events

Constellations of Colour, Star Weavers installation, Waterford

We invite you to the launch of the Waterford Weaves Hope Exhibition, a meaningful event that highlights the power of community and creativity. This exhibition is part of the One Million Stars Ireland project, which uses art as a way to bring awareness to domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence.

The One Million Stars Ireland project is a nationwide community arts initiative that connects communities through the craft of weaving stars. Each eight-pointed star represents light, hope, and solidarity against all forms of violence and promotes the project’s eight points of healthy love within relationships. Through collective efforts, people have created more than 35,000 handwoven stars, each symbolizing hope, resilience, and a commitment to building a safer, more compassionate world.

Constellations of Colour embodies this mission through the upward spiral motion of this installation, symbolising hope and positivity and reflecting our shared journey towards a safer, brighter future. Constellations of Colour is, first and foremost, a way to honour and showcase the mindful folding work of those who created the actual stars over many hours. Being creative with our hands with a mindful purpose is strongly aligned with the values of Conscious Crafting, which uses creativity to support mental health and foster connection.

Constellations of Colour embodies this mission
through the upward spiral motion of this installation

Without many additional helping hands, these tubes would not be standing here. There are many people I wish to thank, but some stories feel particularly interwoven with the project and deserve mention. Anna, from the Waterford Volunteer Centre, was consistently there with a smile, tea and hours of support, even during evenings and weekends. Many people came to help during the week to stick the stars in the right place, and communication was at times tricky due to language barriers and colour blindness, creating a modern interpretation of the deaf leading the blind. Many nationalities are represented here, such as Nicole, visiting from South Africa, who shared how dangerous life is for a young woman in Cape Town. Aweys, from Somalia, who works long hours in a meat factory, was there on Saturday morning early to continue helping us. My husband, Neil, dedicated six hours the Sunday before the opening to create the internal structure with only the help of Björn from Germany. Finally, Alex from Ukraine joined the day before the opening to help get the columns standing up after transport amongst many others.

The New Community Men’s Shed in Coffeehouse Lane deserves special mention for providing the use of the Friendship Café space, tools and repurposed wood. Lastly, thanks goes to Ferrybank Men’s Shed for crafting the sturdy bases that support the structure.

Event Details

We invite you to join us for this special event to reflect, engage, and support this important initiative. Your presence would mean so much as we come together to celebrate creativity and its potential to inspire positive change.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Suzan McCreadie
Creative Director