History brought to life in Liberation exhibition

Anne-Marie Willing working on the St Peter panel

A new exhibition celebrating Jersey's Liberation and the Occupation Tapestry has opened at the Maritime Museum.

The pop-up display, called Colour our Collection – Occupation Tapestry, marks 80 years since Liberation when Jersey was freed from Nazi occupation, and 30 years since the original tapestry was created.

The exhibition features 12 bold acrylic paintings, each inspired by one of the original panels of the tapestry, which was a created as a community arts project to tell the story of the island during World War Two.

Over the past eight months, islanders have worked together in 55 painting workshops held in parish halls across the island.

Anne-Marie Willing takes part in a painting session

Community groups played a big part, with the Youth Service creating the St Helier piece, La Moye Prison inmates painting St Brelade, and residents of Maison Belleville working on St Saviour.

Melissa Rodrigues, Jersey Heritage's outreach curator, said: "The 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."

For some, the project was a trip down memory lane. Anne-Marie Willing, who helped sew the St Peter panel in 1995, brought photo albums to the workshops.

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."

The exhibition runs daily from 10:00 to 16:00 GMT until 11 December. Entry is free for Jersey Heritage members and children under six.