‘Colour our Collection – Occupation Tapestry’ showcases 12 large acrylic paintings – representing the 12 original Occupation Tapestry panels – created by community groups over the past eight months.

The pop-up exhibition is officially opened on Thursday evening (20th) in the Occupation Tapestry Gallery at the Maritime Museum. Each painting is displayed directly in front of the corresponding Tapestry panel.

The ‘Colour our Collection – Occupation Tapestry’ project is part of Jersey Heritage’s celebrations in 2025 to mark Liberation 80 and 30 years since the Occupation Tapestry was created for the 50th anniversary of Liberation. The project was a different take on the charity’s usual ‘Colour our Collection’ outreach project, which involves community groups learning through creative workshops about a painting from the Jersey Heritage art collection.

In total, there were 55 drop-in painting workshops across the Island in parish halls, and some of the panels were also worked on by community groups, including the Youth Service for the St Helier painting, La Moye Prison inmates for St Brelade and residents of Maison Belleville for St Saviour.

The project was organised by Melissa Rodrigues, Jersey Heritage’s Outreach Curator, who said it involved over 100 participants, more than 400 hours of painting and about 10 litres of acrylic paint for all 12 canvases.

She said: “The ‘Colour our Collection – Occupation Tapestry’ exhibition is a celebration of a wonderful community project that has been a joy from start to finish. A big thank you goes to everyone we have worked with on the project since it began in April. With Islanders’ help, we have 12 beautiful and colourful paintings to mark two special anniversaries in the Island’s history.

“This creative project has been a lovely way to engage with the community and an incredible opportunity for us to hear Islanders’ stories, especially from some of the original Tapestry participants, who reunited to help us to create the paintings of the panels they stitched back in 1995.”

Anne-Marie Willing was one of the Islanders who shared her stories of helping to sew the St Peter panel while taking part in the Parish of St Peter workshops for ‘Colour our Collection – Occupation Tapestry’. She brought along photo albums and other material that captured her participation in the original project.

She said: “I like to keep a record of things and took lots of photos as the St Peter panel for the Tapestry progressed. Those photos have been in my home for 30 years – I got them out when I went to the painting sessions and it was nice to be able to reminisce and meet up with some of the other Tapestry workers. I’m not a painter nor an expert in needlework but I enjoyed being part of both projects and am delighted my photo albums and memorabilia are now likely to be cared for at Jersey Archive to help to share the story of the people behind the Occupation Tapestry.”

A new episode of Jersey Heritage’s podcast, ‘Small Island, Big Story Sessions’ featuring Anne-Marie, Wayne Audrain, who designed the Occupation Tapestry, and Clarissa Maine, the parish co-ordinator for St Peter, will be released next month at www.jerseyheritage.org/learn/podcasts/

  • The ‘Colour our Collection – Occupation Tapestry’ exhibition will be open daily from 10am-4pm and will run until Thursday, 11 December 2025. Usual entry fees apply. Free to Jersey Heritage Members and children under the age of six.