Angus Welcome Quilt unveiled at the Meffan Museum

The Meffan Museum & Art Gallery team welcomed members of the Arbroath Afghan Women’s Sewing Group recently as the Angus Welcome Quilt was unveiled as part of a new exhibition.

The wonderful quilt which has been created to celebrate the achievements and the challenges that refugees have overcome in their journey to Scotland and since their arrival in Angus, will be on display during the exhibition called Tangled Threads, which highlights the history of textile production in Angus. The exhibition features objects and textiles from Strathmore Woollen Company, part of Forfar’s industrial landscape since 1949.

The quilt was created by the Arbroath Afghan Women’s Sewing Group who meet at D&A College in Arbroath to work on textile projects, share their sewing skills and improve their English in a welcoming and supportive environment. Each panel of the quilt represents a ‘milestone’ that refugees have achieved in their journeys and celebrates their welcome in the county and the contribution they have made to their communities.

Angus Council Vibrant Communities Resettlement and ESOL service successfully secured a grant from Scottish Refugee Council to allow them to support the Afghan Refugee Women’s Sewing Group to create the Welcome Quilt.

The quilt will tour round appropriate venues in Angus and its first outing is timed around the period of the Scottish Refugee Festival (13 – 22nd June 2025) to promote awareness of the journeys refugees have made.

You can find out more about the Angus Welcome Quilt project at www.refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk/events/event/angus-welcome-quilt/.

The Tangled Threads exhibition runs until 6 October 2025, more information on the exhibition can be found here.