Remembering the Children of Gaza
Each Child a Light كل طفل نور is an international collaborative quilt project with each square dedicated to an individual child who has been killed in Gaza. Initiated and coordinated by artist Fiona Bailey, it makes visible the scale of atrocity, providing space to mourn, to mark and to remember.
A selection of panels was presented in the foyer of the Arcola Theatre in London during Good Chance’s run of A Grain of Sand حبّة رمل in January 2026, and we sat down with Fiona to find out more about the project and our collaboration…
Fiona, can you tell us a little about the exhibition?
“The idea for the project grew out of the urgent need to respond to the horror unfolding in Gaza; the need to counter the abject failure of media, government and cultural institutions to recognise the atrocities, or acknowledge the identities and stories of the individual children underlying the incomprehensible death toll; to find a way to ensure that the children murdered in this genocide will never be anonymous, and to make something tangible which will ensure that all these young lives, lost to such violence, will be remembered as beloved individuals - sons and daughters who had their whole future ahead of them; children who had hopes and dreams; and who deserved to live their lives to the fullest.
The idea of creating a quilt was inspired by the radical traditions of fabric arts and quilting. This art form enables broad collaboration and community participation, which is absolutely key. Creating a large-scale fabric patchwork means that hundreds, if not thousands, of people can contribute - patch by patch, square by square - each square celebrating and honouring the uniqueness of each child and recording their name. Stitching the children’s names is an act of bearing witness, of mourning, remembrance, and kinship.
More than 600 people from across the UK and internationally have contributed to the quilt so far, the youngest aged just 3 and the oldest 91. Some people work individually from home, others come together to make squares in the regular workshops we run, people of all ages, backgrounds and levels of experience including artists, crafters, activists; community and faith groups; children and students.
The choice of technique is very open – and this enables each person to choose the approach they feel most comfortable with - whether that be embroidery, Tatreez, applique, crochet, weaving, or tapestry – and even block-printing, and cyanotype printing onto fabric. This very open approach makes the project widely accessible, and at the same time collectively gives the quilt a unique and eclectic beauty.”
And how does it feel to display these works during the run of A Grain of Sand?
The partnership with Good Chance and displaying a selection of panels alongside A Grain of Sand is an incredibly powerful and poignant juxtaposition. Both theatre and textile arts have a long tradition of protest, of capturing and re-telling the stories and histories that would otherwise go untold. And both are powerful forces for political and social change. These two artforms presented here hand-in-hand extend and deepen the message. Moving between the profound emotional impact of Renad’s story; the real voices of children in Gaza; the children’s names endlessly scrolling - and then the quiet contemplation of the quilt, reflecting on each individual name, each beautiful and loving crafted remembrance, creates a connection - each and every child is ‘real’ – we can see them, hear them, they have form. The impact is overwhelmingly moving, it counters erasure and, importantly, pushes us to act.
Images © Amir Ibrahimi
