Portrait(s) of Camden
Community Quilts
London - Since 2023
Project led by Dr Joana Monteiro, in partnership with WMCollege and in collaboration with over 500 people in Camden
Portrait(s) of Camden is a community collaborative art project that celebrates the rich diversity of Camden through the creative expressions of those who make the borough so unique — its residents, workers, students, and visitors alike.
From September 2023 to September 2024, twenty portrait-making workshops were delivered across Camden in collaboration with a wide range of partners — including state and private schools, community and family centres, festivals, charities, funders, and local activity groups. Over 500 people of all ages and backgrounds created their portraits using fabric scraps and remnants. Each fabric portrait opens a small window into the life of its maker, and together they form a vibrant, ever-evolving tapestry representing Camden itself, reflecting our identities as individuals and as a community.
Between November 2024 and September 2025, nine learners from the WM College quilted and assembled the portraits. Ranging from beginners to experienced quilters, they patiently stitched each piece of fabric — by hand or machine — adding their own creative voices to the Portrait(s) of Camden quilt.
Since June 2025, Portrait(s) of Camden has begun its journey across the borough, reaching new audiences through exhibitions and events. Exhibiting the four panels together elevates the project to an entirely new scale. No longer do we focus on single portraits; instead, we witness the power of bringing together 500 individual pieces into one cohesive artwork. Each exhibition becomes a space to inspire and connect, sparking conversations about creativity, storytelling, community, and identity.
A book complements the quilt giving more depth and context to the project. Through contributions from those involved and numerous pictures, the book documents the research, the creative and collaborative process, as well as the numerous stories kindly shared by the participants who created their portraits.
With Portrait(s) of Camden, we not only honour diversity, equality, and solidarity. Its message extends far beyond Camden, building on a long and powerful history of quilts and textile art as forms of activism, inviting us to imagine creative collaboration as an act of resistance against division and hate.
Instagram page: @portrait.s_of_camden
Email address: portraits.of.camden@gmail.com
Organisations involved
Exhibitions
Camden Inspire festival ; Somers Gallery ; Northbridge House Schools ; Edith Neville Primary School ; Maria Fidelis School ; The Village Prep School for Girls ; Edith Neville Family Centre ; Camden Giving ; The British Library ; WM College ; Torriano Primary School ; Talking About Our Generations group (TAOG) ; Be Lifted Now ; The Windrush Festival ; Green City Projects at the London Irish Centre ; Forum + ; Emerald Wednesdays at Green City Projects and Green City Projects St Paul's Woodland garden Wednesday afternoon group
· Human Rights Today Festival, Refugee Week, O2 Centre, London (18-23 June 2025)
· London Irish Centre, London (12-30 September 2025)
· WM College, London (27 October- 31 December 2025)
· Swiss Cottage Library, London (4-29 June 2026)
· The International Quilt Festival, Birmingham (27-29 August 2026)
· Holborn Library, Bloomsbury Festival, London (1-31 October 2026)
Photography by Joana Monteiro, Maciej Rackiewicz, Claudia Cantarini, Sam Rockman, Simon O’Connor, Creators Media UK and Umpf Limited.
Graphic design by Maciej Rackiewicz.
Created alongside the quilt, this book documents a two-year journey of collective making across the London Borough of Camden. Through photographs, reflections and personal stories, it brings together the voices of the hundreds of people who contributed their fabric portraits to this collaborative artwork.
The book follows the creative process behind the project — from the first workshops to the quilting, exhibitions and the relationships built along the way. It honours the makers, the stories behind the stitches, and the power of craft to connect people across generations and backgrounds.
By purchasing this book, you are supporting socially engaged art, community craft projects and the continued sharing of textile practices as tools for connection, care and social change.
Created alongside the quilt, this book documents a two-year journey of collective making across the London Borough of Camden. Through photographs, reflections and personal stories, it brings together the voices of the hundreds of people who contributed their fabric portraits to this collaborative artwork.
The book follows the creative process behind the project — from the first workshops to the quilting, exhibitions and the relationships built along the way. It honours the makers, the stories behind the stitches, and the power of craft to connect people across generations and backgrounds.
By purchasing this book, you are supporting socially engaged art, community craft projects and the continued sharing of textile practices as tools for connection, care and social change.
Through exhibitions and events, Portrait(s) of Camden keeps inspiring creativity. Just like this poem by Richard Neville, from Story Circles, inspired by our exhibition at Swiss Cottage library in June 2026.
I went a’walking through the streets
beneath the clouds so grey
I wondered if someone I’d meet
and what they’d have to say
I came to a library broad and high
with glass doors open wide
there were many people walking by
and so I went inside
I found a quilt was hanging low
in a space so full of light
each panel had a face to show
it dazzled to the sight
Each square within that quilt so fine
contained a tale so bold
and I forgot the passing time
for the stories that were told
Each face appeared to speak aloud
at least that’s how it seemed
each individual in that crowd
I heard as though I dreamed
And when I walked away from there
my heart was full and kind
for all those stories that I heard
I now held in my mind