Canvas unveiled

Bradford and Syria were quite literally stitched closer together last week as a giant patchwork canvas was unveiled in the city centre.

As part of the ‘What is home project’ children from the war-torn country had drawn their own ideas of what constituted ‘home’ before the same task was given to primary school pupils in Bradford.

The result, a 1,000 piece canvas which was painstakingly sewn together by the city’s ‘Sewing Bradford’ group, all free of charge, which was revealed on Monday as part of Refugee Week.

FINISHED: Hundreds of children from Syria and Bradford have drawn their ideas of what home is, with each patch sewn together to create this huge canvas

International humanitarian aid organisation, Human Relief Foundation, and Horton Grange Primary School had spearheaded the project which eventually produced the four and a half metre long, by two and a half metre wide, piece of art.

Qais Khaliq, Fundraising Coordinator for Human Relief Foundation, commented: “We asked five hundred Syrian refugee children and several hundred Bradford children to draw their idea of ‘What is Home’ on a square piece of canvas and then we stitched them together.

“The result is this incredible piece of artwork that has come straight from the minds of children. The photographs from Bradford show normal imagery depicting houses and gardens. The Syria ones tend to be a bit more brutal. In some instances we had images of guns, dead bodies and bombed houses.

“We hope that this artwork will really show what Syrian children are going through and will raise awareness of their plight. We also hope that it will teach our Bradford children to always consider what other people are going through.”

The Syrian children who contributed to the project were living in the Madabah area of Jordan within host homes and communities, or from the King Abdullah or Cyber City refugee camps.

Meanwhile, children from six schools in Bradford contributed to the canvas; Horton Grange, Copthorpe, Lidget Green, St Oswalds, Grange Technology and Princeville.

It was on display at the Fabric Gallery in Bradford City Centre until Friday.