This paper presents ‘The cultural walk’; a multi-dimensional art project organised by the ‘Art Group - POED Nicosia’ in 2017. This group consists of Cypriot elementary art teachers, who provide voluntary art education courses and practice-based workshops to the educational community, to children and adults. The project aimed to help teachers and students reconceptualise the Cypriot tradition and history, through the creation of a collective quilt. The project was inspired by the Internationally acclaimed book ‘The Quilmaker’s gift’ by Jeff Brumbeau. The quilt was created through the unification of smaller pieces (patchwork), prepared by art teachers and their students during art class in schools across Cyprus.

The theoretical underpinnings of the projects aligned with the concept of ‘Craftivism’. Craftivism is the practice of engaged creativity, especially regarding political or social causes. It allows practitioners to customize their particular skills to address particular causes. During the first conference of the European Programme CREARTE (2016-2017), Prof. Rachel Mason discussed and critiqued the value of this contemporary art movement, with a view to considering its potential for helping teachers to engage school children in critical enquiry of issues pertaining to democracy, citizenship and government and consider links between identity and social action. Through the collaborative use of crafts, people unite their creative power to develop a more sustainable environment, and in some cases, to initiate change in their societies.

Both as a cultural process and an intergenerational artwork (involving teachers, parents and children), the quilt aspired to commemorate the cultural history of the island and enable connections with its current multifaceted identity. People engaging in the process of making as well as the audience viewing the quilt were able to engage in dialogue around issues concerning identity, tradition and contemporary art making in educational settings. The final artwork was offered as ‘gift’ from the Cypriot educational community to the European Cultural Capital – Pafos in 2017. Before reaching Pafos however, the quilt ‘travelled’ to different locations in Cyprus. Its initial presentation started from the National Gallery of Modern Cyprus Art in Nicosia. It then travelled to Limassol, Ormideia (Larnaca district) and finally, it was given to the representatives of the programme Schools in Action - Pafos 2017. Now is part of the permanent collection at the Ethnographic Museum of Pafos. Both in the beginning and at the end of the quilt’s journey (Nicosia and Pafos), the Art Group – POED Nicosia organised public art and drama workshops for children. The project would not be made possible without the help and guidance of the experienced quiltmakers Mrs.Nonie Khenkin and Mrs.Maro Vanezis. Mrs Knenkin and Mrs. Vanezis provided practice-led workshops to teachers inasmuch as they constructed the final quilt from the patchwork pieces given by the participant schools.

Finally, this project aligns with the conference’s purposes because it provides a practical and multifaceted way of foregrounding artistic action and creating quality partnerships among teachers, artists and the community in order to provide valuable and commemorative artistic experiences to the children.