Blue quilt

Our craft questions consumerism and rethinks waste. Our minds and hands have re-imagined, re-purposed and re-valued the precious resources of our planet.

“I used a tablecloth embroidered by my grandmother. It seemed appropriate, because my grandmother’s grandparents came to Australia to escape religious persecution. By including her embroidery, I felt I was collaborating with her younger self.”

- Candy Barnes, Australia, Article18, the Blue Quilt

UDHR Blue quilt

Read more about each quilt block

Article 11

Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

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Caren Garfen specialises in textiles and painstaking hand-stitch, creating carefully considered pieces with profound messages. Her interest is in gender politics and women’s issues, mainly focusing on social pressures and dieting in the 21st century. She creates one-off artworks, commissions, site-specific pieces and installations, and has worked on group projects with other artists. Her wryly humorous and sharply observed hand-sewn messages are the result of extensive research and intuitive observation.

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Article 10

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

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I’ve been knitting and cross-stitching since my early teens and know I can’t rest unless I’ve stitched something each day! I’ve recently been using my love for cross-stitch and embroidery to help spread key political messages to promote equality. 

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Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

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Ashley Catharine Smith is a New York-based artist working in photography, video and fibres. Through the combination of these mediums she creates melodramatic depictions of relationships, sex and gender. Her work is driven by her desire to understand how rules about feelings and gender roles affect our interpersonal relationships and sense of self. Ashley explores the complexity of relationships by depicting intimate moments with an additional element of fibres seemingly growing from the surface of the photograph.

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Article 8

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

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Being an artist, parent, and good human make up the biggest part of Darci Lenker. She splits her time between creating, trying to make a difference, and raising the next generation to do the same. Her biggest craftivism project was 365 Days of Food, where she embroidered and gave away 365 tiny foods in exchange for a donation to help hungry people.

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Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

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Kelsey Lynn is a multi-media artist originating from Fort Worth, Texas, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Kelsey received her Master of Photography, Video and Related Media at the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2016. Kelsey’s work focuses on dismantling rape culture and rebelling against patriarchy and, paired with her activism, she combats toxic gender stereotypes and aims to build a community of support, understanding, and compassion. Her goal is to empower women, to give a voice to those who feel silenced, and to strive for gender equality. 

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Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

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Niveditha U S is a program manager with Teach For India, part of the Teach For All network. India is a very diverse country of many languages and cultures, and Niveditha hails from a mixed-language/cultures background. She is deeply committed to solving the struggle for educational equity so that all children can have an excellent education. She truly believes in the potential of the children to be a better generation and change the world to a more equal and humane one, slowly but steadily. 

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Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

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Nicole O’Loughlin is a self-taught embroidery artist based in Hobart, Tasmania. Originally trained in printmaking, since the birth of her son in 2016 she has turned her hand to embroidery in order to continue her art practice in a more manageable way. She failed needlework in high school home economics, but since then has discovered her own way of learning the medium.

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Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

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Lisa Wilkie is interested in the intersections of art, power, and violence, and how dominant discourses can be subverted and disrupted. In addition to this, she is also interested in finding a good dry riesling, swimming in the sea, and adding to her vintage kimono collection.

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Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

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Briony Martin is originally from South Wales but now lives in Leeds, England. She is a support worker for a small charity that provides work training and wellbeing skills for adults with learning disabilities. She was originally a self-employed textile artist, but her passion for working with adults with learning disabilities came after she took part in a campaign called #justiceforLB, seeking justice for the preventable death of Connor Sparrowhawk, known as ‘Laughing Boy’, who had autism and epilepsy.

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Article 2

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

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Jes Hallagan is maker and mother from Queensland, Australia, who stitches custom family portraits for families all over the world. She has a passion for pop culture and was able to turn her love of crafts and TV into her job.

An active member of her community, Jes loves to help others around her. This is evident in recently launched activism craftivism project of her own, raising money for victims of domestic violence all around Australia by uniting makers to create, after being so inspired by this project.

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