Let’s Sew Iceland Together

Grófin City Library
1 - 31 October 2026
This exhibition features a collectively made textile created during a year-long social art project. It brought Reykjavik residents together through the practice of patchwork quilting at local library branches and the Maritime Museum. ‘Patchwork’ is a textile technique in which small pieces of fabric are sewn together to form a larger design. Traditionally, it has been a way to reuse and recycle textile waste while visually expressing personal stories and cultural identity through color and pattern. This quilt was made exclusively with recycled bedcovers by over one hundred people.
The project brings people from different directions together
The project brings together a network of partner organizations—including the Icelandic Patchwork Guild, the Saumó Sewing Group (a collective of refugee women in Iceland), Reykjavík City Museums, the Icelandic Textile Association, and students from the Reykjavík School of Visual Arts—to facilitate meaningful exchange between long-term residents and immigrant communities. Through these collaborations, the project created opportunities for dialogue, mutual learning, and shared authorship. Limited copies of a book publication outlining the project will be available for purchase at the opening.
Christalena Hughmanick grew up in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, USA where she learned about quilting from the Amish people who lived nearby. Her individual and group projects build community through teaching and shared experience. These social practice methodologies developed through obtaining an MFA degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2010-12). Her works have been exhibited internationally and she has been an artist in residence at B28 Nordic Culture Point, American Academy in Rome and the Moholy-Nagy Művészeti Egyetem in Budapest. Her practice has been supported by the Immigrant Development Fund of Iceland, the Fulbright Foundation, the US Department of State, Grainger Marburg and the Lenore Tawney Foundation among others.
For further information:
Guðrún Elísa Ragnarsdóttir, Project manager
gudrun.elisa.ragnarsdottir@reykjavik.is | 411 6100
Christalena Hughmanick
christalena.hughmanick@gmail.com
www.christalenahughmanick.com