Quilt or Banner?
Last year I reflected on whether we can make a difference through our art. That post referred to No one should die, the quilt I made for Festival of Quilts in 2023. This quilt was the beginning of my realisation that I wanted to be a textile artist who raised issues with their work, and I began to question whether I was producing quilts or banners.
No one should die (2023) Mary Whitehouse
My research for my studies at Bradford School of Art this last year began with the question What is the difference between a quilt and a banner?
In this research I considered examples of each: the Hallville Canadian Red Cross Quilt which is in the Quilt Collection, York, and the Greenham Common Peace Camp Banner created by Thalia Campbell, which is in the Peace Museum, Bradford.
Hallville Canadian Red Cross Quilt (1940-1945) Quilters Guild Collection
Greenham Common Peace Camp Banner (1981) Thalia Campbell
I used the ideas of Sonia Andrew (2008) to analyse these two examples as cultural signifiers and concluded that these two examples show that there are signifiers that are common to both banners and quilts, for example both can engender a feeling of community and of heritage. Perhaps the key factor that distinguishes banners from quilts is that all banners are made for public display to communicate a specific message, as well as carrying other less overt signifiers such as solidarity and community. Most quilts are not made for public display, but for placing on a bed to provide warmth and comfort. However, when they are displayed, on a washing line for instance, they do signify those basic messages of warmth and comfort to those who see them.
There are many quilts on display at quilt exhibitions which are designed to communicate in a similar way to a banner, these quilts need to be displayed to convey their message. So, they are quilts, because they are made like a quilt with two or more layers stitched together, but they are also a banner because they are designed to communicate an explicit message.
In conclusion I suggest that the question What is the difference between a quilt and a banner? raises a false dichotomy – why do we need to classify textile works to be in just one category? Trying to get agreement on the classification of a textile object into a single category denies the complexity of meaning carried by the work. The maker has an idea of what the object means to them, but once it is out in the world, like any work of art, it can carry a whole range of different meanings to viewers.
My work supports the work of Refugee Action York, who work to challenge misconceptions about refugees and asylum seekers and provide support to those seeking sanctuary. www.refugeeactionyork.org
You too can support their work, and mine, by donating via RAY’s JustGiving page
Find out more
The Hallville Quilt will be exhibited at Festival of Quilts, in Birmingham this month, as part of the Quilt Collection Gallery War, Peace and Needlework around WWII. 31st July - 3rd August 2025.
The current exhibition at the Peace Museum celebrates the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, 5th June - 14th September 2025.
Andrew, S. (2008) Textile Semantics: Considering a Communication-based Reading of Textiles, TEXTILE, 6(1), pp. 32–65. [Online] Available from: https://doi.org/10.2752/175183508X288680.
