■ OF ALL THE ART genres textile art, in particular, has the power to soothe and heal.Working with fabric brings to mind familiar connotations, as clothing to keep us warm and as decoration in our homes to make them cosy. But textile art still retains the power to highlight social inequalities and give voice to the minorities; it has political punch. As a group activity it can promote social cohesion in communities that are drifting apart. Sometimes the act of stitching can be enough to turn around lives that once seemed lost. For contemporary artist and textiles professor Alice Kettle, it was the perfect medium to achieve these outcomes when her daughter introduced her to the plight of refugees through her charitable work. Thread Bearing Witness, a project that uses textiles to learn from, show solidarity with, and raise funds for displaced people has collaborated with Christopher Farr Cloth, and with Alice’s guidance commissioned refugee craft groups across the UK to create a collection of handembroidered cushions, featuring distinctive running stitched designs (pictured).The programme continues Alice’s work with the Bristol based charity Bridges for Communities, the Arnolfini’s Women’s Craft Group and the Bristol Refugee Festival. The partnership is a celebration of the common language textile art represents. Alice has worked with refugee craft groups, and with individuals, building trust and connecting with them through the emotive power of hand-stitching. She has also created a series of cushions herself using techniques she has learned from the refugees. The artist says:‘We come together through hand-stitching to make beautiful work and demonstrate the power of human dignity.’ View the collection at christopherfarrcloth.com Elsewhere in the magazine it’s a very different picture as Robert Ossant writes of the majesty of goldwork, both the tradition stretching back hundreds (if not thousands) of years, and the modern interpretation, seen in our article on the exquisite work of Laura Baverstock. Writing this before the coronation, I can only imagine the dazzling ceremonial spectacle that awaits. But it is good to know that, as patrons of the arts, both TRH King Charles and Queen Camilla have shown support for textile art. Queen Camilla became patron of the Royal School of Needlework in 2017, while King Charles owns a spectacular goldwork bumblebee by Laura Baverstock, and through The Prince’s Foundation is supporting the next generation of embroiderers.