Case Study: Arts and Sustainability Thematic Group
Cut From the Same Cloth
Academics and Institutional Affiliation:
Lorna Donlon, Amanda McCann, Arman Rahman & Elaine Quinn
University College Dublin
Background:
A unique exhibition and nationwide tour, funded by Research Ireland, merging art, science, and community.
‘Cut From the Same Cloth’, is a multimedia exhibition and culmination of a socially engaged artwork by artist, Lorna Donlon in partnership with women in minority communities across Ireland and biomedical researchers from UCD Conway Institute in University College Dublin (UCD).
Through a series of ten gatherings in community settings around Ireland in 2024, women shared personal stories about fabrics significant to their cultural traditions, customs and lived experience. These ‘get-togethers’ provided an opportunity for researchers to share the parallels between patterns in textiles and those seen at the cellular level in health research.
Inspired by these stories, Lorna Donlon created a handwoven tapestry that bridges personal and scientific narratives through fabric and is complemented in the exhibition by research textiles, photographs by Anthony Hobbs and video narratives by Crannóg Media. Each fabric story is a doorway into the pattern of a person’s life or of their life’s work.
The tapestry includes a readable, embedded woven QR code that links to the digital version of the exhibition (https://cutfromthesamecloth.org/), marrying an ancient technique with a contemporary technology.
Impacts, Outcomes, and Key Learnings:
Professor Amanda McCann, University College Dublin, academic lead of ‘Cut From the Same Cloth’ project and the ‘Patient Voice in Health Research’ initiative said; “Through this project, we want to create an inclusive environment where minority communities can actively be involved in and contribute to the progress of health research, enriching both the research landscape and the broader community. Cloth allowed us to find common ground in an equitable, open and transparent way”.
The biomedical researchers involved in this project are working in disease areas such as ovarian, prostate and breast cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, nutrition in pregnancy, bacterial vaccines, motor neuron disease, skin burn wounds, rare respiratory diseases and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Arman Rahman, University College Dublin who is part of the project team said; “People from minority ethnic groups can often experience poorer health than the rest of the population. As part of the ‘Patient Voice in Health Research’ initiative, UCD Conway researchers connect and engage with minority communities about research developments in health and understand how research can consider their community’s needs.”
Webpage:
https://cutfromthesamecloth.org/
SDGs impacted:
SDG 13, SDG 4 & SDG 10
