The Red Dress Project comes to Swansea - March 2022

Swansea Women's Asylum and Refugee Support Group worked with the Red Dress project when it came to Swansea in March 2022. The Red Dress was on display upstairs in the Waterfront Museum for three weeks but it was brought down into the main hall for the women to work on it. Several of the women wore traditional dress in honour of a project they saw as bringing women from all over the world together, finding a common identity in adding to the dress in their many different embroidery practices. Kirstie MacCleod's dress had been welcomed in 48 countries over 13 years and been embroidered by 347 women and 7 men, each expressing their personal story in a different way. The Women's Group were excited that they would be the last to add embroidery - though the dress is continuing to travel. As elsewhere, participants had the opportunity to wear the dress and for the 4 women who chose to do so there was a sense of transformation and solidarity. It was a wonderful event. The film was made from photographs taken by the women and incorporates information supplied by Kirstie MacCleod