Mend the World, 2018 is a collaborative mending experience developed by the Sewing Rebellion, Frau Fiber, Steven Frost, and the Boulder Public Library maker space, BLDG 61. Mending is an act of art, activism, storytelling, and empowerment. The group shared hand-mending traditions and skills and learned techniques from visitors. At the Next Library Berlin workshop, participants made embroidered Call to Action patches to take back to their communities. They also facilitated the making of a collaborative world banner. This banner is a  ‘living document’ and libraries around the world were invited to host it so that the piece can travel around the world and continue to grow with added words, mending techniques, and images. This partnership exhibits the power of the library as a free and open platform for activism, democracy, and free speech.

Mend the World at the Next Library Conference in Berlin, Germany (September 14-17, 2018).