Participatory needlework and human rights activism

This article reflects on a participatory embroidery project in Mexico, Bordando por la paz y la Memoria: una víctima un pañuelo, by the art collective Fuentes Rojas. For over ten years this public art initiative has used needlework to engage with human rights issues. Fibre art groups in Mexico use needlework and the internet to address issues such as disappearances, femicides/feminicides and other violent killings. Building on Latin America’s heritage of activist needlework, the Mexican peace embroidery movement takes a transmedial approach to the memorialization of victims of violence in the country. They hold exhibitions and participatory sewing sessions in a variety of venues. They also disseminate information online to generate a dialogue about historical events and human rights issues. In this article, I explore the political and artistic context for the movement, as well as its aims. I argue that the embroiderers have developed a sophisticated memorialization strategy that helps disseminate information about the situation in Mexico while also countering the aversion that can arise from mass media coverage of the violence.