Knitting Faiths Together: Using Art And Yarn To Grow Dialogue Between Religions
LONDON — Exploring interfaith dialogue using knitting is the surprising theme of a new touring event taking place around the United Kingdom.
It all started when Canadian actor and artist Kirk Dunn developed a passion for knitting.
“Growing up as a preacher’s kid, the son of a Presbyterian minister, I spent a lot of time around stained glass, and at that time the 9/11 attacks were still recent,” he said. “There was a great of religious conflict and interfaith dialogue seemed to be sorely lacking. I had always wondered why these three Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — had such trouble getting along because they all come from the same root, and they’re all saying much the same thing.”
He said it “occurred to me that I could use this project to explore a theme that had been of interest to me my whole life — the commonalities and conflicts between the three Abrahamic faiths — and to delve into the question, why can’t we get along?”
Dunn gained an Ontario Arts Council award to create three large knitted panels based on stained glass. It turned out to be a much harder and larger than anticipated. Instead of the projected 10 months to complete, it ultimately took 15 years. “Stitched Glass” is a play on the words stained glass, evoking both the knitted element and the resemblance to church windows. Although opaque, knitted with five to seven strands of yarn, the color combinations creates the image of light shining through.
The result is an unusual mix of drama and textile art. “The Knitting Pilgrim” is an hour-long one-man interdisciplinary show followed by a discussion.
“The hope has always been to create conversation,” said Dunn, who sought out Christian, Muslim and Jewish consultants to help research the artwork and learn about the feelings and experiences of others. “A conversation between all people — believers and non-believers — who find themselves with each other? How can we better understand and empathise with each other? Everyone has unique background, point of view and experience, and at the same time, many experiences are universal. Focusing on what knits us together, rather than what pull us apart, is a place to start.”
Dunn appears knitting in front of three large projection screens and offers to teach the audience to knit. Baskets of yarn and needles are available for anyone to join in, with the ultimate aim of using the audience’s knitting to make a giant Möbius strip.
That’s followed by the story of how his life as an actor, churchgoer and knitter came together in this triptych of tapestries following the tragedy of 9/11 and questioning his right to address interfaith issues. During the presentation, images and dialogue from Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders add their own perspectives, exploring the rise of xenophobia, Islamaphobia, antisemitism and fear of “the other” often fueled by social media.
“Each tapestry features the dominant symbol of a faith, the Star of David for Judaism, the cross for Christianity, and the star and crescent for Islam,” Dunn said. “Inside each of those symbols are positive images of the faith — things they do well, common ground they share, for example, peace, altruism and caring for the stranger.
“Outside the symbols are images referencing the challenges each faith is facing. Some of these issues include patriarchy, the persecution of other religions and seeking power or influence through violence or war.”
Photo courtesy of “The Knitting Pilgrim”
‘Conversation and thought’
The tours were interrupted by the pandemic. This led Dunn to produce podcasts as a way of developing themes explored while on tour.
“It allowed the conversations initiated by ‘The Knitting Pilgrim’ to continue, and addressed some of the questions audience members had about the meaning of the images in the knitted panels,” Dunn said.
“The Knitting Pilgrim” has now been performed over 115 times in Canada, Austria, Germany, the United States. The U.K. leg of the tour included church halls, community centers as well as Bradford and Southwark Cathedrals.
Dunn said reactions to the project have been very positive.
“Audiences have been uniformly glowing and positive,” he said. “These responses have just reinforced my belief that we all — all of humanity — share many more things that unite us than divide us. We are all looking for connections we can build on, and there is a real hunger in the world to find a way to address the fear of the other that seems have gained ground in recent years.”
Philip Lickley, Events and Marketing Officer at Bradford Cathedral, said of Dunn’s performance: “Although I’m not a religious person, I honestly think everyone can get something out of this show. Kirk’s honesty about his misgivings in raising the negative, alongside the positive is a welcome change as we’re often scared of discourse that may offend.”
For Dunn, the project has had a long term personal impact.
“I had always known that the three faiths were quite similar,” he said. “There were definitely a few aha moments for me.”
As for the purpose of the show, Dunn said he see it “as my own particular form of ministry.”
“I’m not interested in preaching or proselytizing.” he added. “I’m interesting in conversation and thought, and reflecting the immense colorful world we have around us. Knitting lends itself to all those things.”
Angela Youngman is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide range of British and international publications.