Evening Talk: The Power of Stitching Inside and Out, with Tracy Chevalier

Join bestselling author Tracy Chevalier to hear how her work with Fine Cell Work, teaching prisoners to sew, culminated in the beautiful Sleep Quilt.

Tracy Chevalier is the author of 11 novels, including Girl with a Pearl Earring, an international bestseller that has sold over 5 million copies, been translated into 45 languages and been made into a film, a play and an opera. Her novels often focus on makers and making throughout history. Born in Washington DC, she moved to the United Kingdom in 1986, and lives with her husband in London and Dorset. She supports several charities for the issues that matter most to her, including the Woodland Trust, First Story, Freedom from Torture, and Fine Cell Work. 

Tracy has long been interested in people making things, whether it’s paintings, cushions, tapestries, quilts, or glassware: not only for practical use but as a form of therapy. In this illustrated talk, she will discuss her long association with the charity Fine Cell Work, which teaches prisoners to sew, with beautiful, therapeutic and moving results. That association resulted in the Sleep Quilt, a collaborative effort by 70 prisoners in 8 prisons, currently on show in the Ruskin Collection: Hand, Head and Heart exhibition.  

Victoria Gillies, Executive Director of Fine Cell Work, will introduce the charity and Tracy.