Stitching and Weaving: A Metaphor for Social Cohesion

While there is no agreed definition of ‘social cohesion’, the term generally describes the state of our collective being as a society or ‘our ability to live well together’. 

Without a high degree of social cohesion, a democracy cannot be resilient. Like the weave within a cloth, the threads that make up society must be strong and resilient. This has become even more important today with threats such as rising inequality and misinformation spread through online media channels.

The Koi Tū – Centre for Informed Futures paper maintains that social cohesion rests on two main pillars: social trust between people, and institutional trust in our democratic systems, media, science, and governance. That means communities as well as our leaders and institutions need to value social cohesion. 

As a textile artist, the act of creating patterns with stitches, I liken to the threads that connect us as a community. When I begin to stitch, the thread on my cloth looks like small, unconnected lines. When I build and layer more stitches to create the patterns I want to achieve, the stitches become closer together. Sometimes they look like little islands, sometimes they overlap.

When I add more stitches, it becomes more difficult to push my needle through them. Like the fabric of society, when the stitches pull together in a strong pattern, they are impenetrable. However, when they are further apart, they easily snag, pull or become loose. As Sir Peter Gluckman states, ‘the more cohesive a society is, the better prepared it is to handle current and future challenges’.

At Creative Waikato, we see creativity as essential to a thriving humanity. We use a cloth as a metaphor for our collective experience. In it, we see the horizontal threads as arts, culture and creativity, and the vertical threads as everything else. When both work together, arts and culture touching each strand of all other aspects of society, the interlocking strands become beautiful, strong and inspiring. 

By proactively valuing and supporting the arts, culture and creative sector, we can add value and enhance the wellbeing of our people. The act of stitching is a process of building, layering and pulling stitches together.  Society is made up of different threads, however, it is in the pulling together of these threads that ensures our communities are stronger, despite our differences.

Written by: Des Ratima, Creative Waikato team member