The Shelter installation was set up last Monday and Tuesday at Art Station. They assembled some scaffolding and then draped the blankets over the top and round each side just leaving a narrow entrance into the cavernous structure. The effect is magical. I went to the opening on Wednesday evening after work and caught sight of some of the blankets through the windows from the street. They look terrific. There was a big crowd at the opening, coming and going and exclaiming over the beauty of the blankets. There was a short speech by one of the Knitterati group outlining the progress of the project over the last year and then the women from the Red Cross spoke about how refugees appreciate such gifts, especially if they go to colder places like Hamilton where one of the women was from. Imbibed a couple of glasses of wine with the traditional cheesey accompaniements, to celebrate the occasion.
Today 6 days later was the first school visit, a group from a Mt Albert Kura Kaupapa, a Maori immersion school. It was a large group of about 30 with a few adults. They had a good look at the installation then had a short talk on the project and knitting, then were shown how to knit. I was helping do this and it was very rewarding when they finally got the knack of it. We are doing the same on Thursday, Saturday and next Tuesday and Thursday.
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