Ribbons of Unity

Throughout June, Fusion Arts and the Cowley Road Works ran community arts project across East Oxford entitled, Flags, Ribbons Of Unity in tribute to the spectacular national and global celebrations taking place over the summer for the 2012 Olympic Games. Community and voluntary groups, schools, local people and families from East Oxford were invited to join together and create colourful flags, banners and bunting to celebrate the diversity of the East Oxford community and the range of cultures from the Commonwealth participating in the Olympics.

60 flags, 100s of bunting triangles and 3 large banners were created during the project. The decorations were first displayed to greet the Olympic Torch Relay when it passed through Oxford on July 9th 2012 and have since become a community resource to be used for other events such as Mela, Carnival and other local festivals and celebrations.

Artists worked with participants to create their own Batik design and print using simple cold wax dying techniques and to paint their national colours or emblems to represent their identity and heritage. The flags were then linked together in a colourful display to celebrate the diversity and unity of the community.

The first arts workshops began over the Diamond Jubilee weekend with drop in flag making sessions at SS Mary & John Church, the Magdalen Road Street Party and the Lord Mayor’s Jubilee Tea Party and continued throughout June at workshops, celebrations and events and in local schools.

This project was funded by Awards for All and supported by Aziz Indian Restaurant on the Cowley Road as well as the Oxford City Council.