The Closing of the Common Threads Embroidery Exhibition at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch

The Common Threads Embroidery Exhibition at Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch successfully ended on 27 March 2022. 20 members of Canterbury Embroiderers’ Guild (CEG), led by their President Marie Meyer and exhibition planner Ros McCarthy, held a small closing ceremony. The closing ceremony was attended by Director of FGY Art Gallery Christchurch, Venerable Jue Xi, President of Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island, Bernie, Vice President of BLIA South Island, James Low, President of First Subchapter of BLIA South Island, Tiffany Su and BLIA South Island Director Kok Wei Low.

On behalf of CEG, Marie delivered a speech, expressing her gratitude for being able to hold the Embroidery Exhibition during this difficult time of COVID-19 pandemic. She especially thanked FGY Art Gallery Christchurch for providing the exhibition venue. Marie said: The beautiful atmosphere of the Gallery and the visitors and the Gallery staff have brought a lot of positive energy to on-duty CEG member. CEG members cherish this hard-to-come-by opportunity very much. The enthusiastic responses from the two Embroidery Classes held during the Exhibition and the sale of an exhibit have brought great encouragement to CEG and unforgettable memories to its members.

In her speech, Venerable Jue Xi expressed her delight to be able to reconnect with CEG again through this Exhibition. She said: During the three months of the Exhibition, CEG members have brought a lot of joy to the Gallery. Whether it was the laughter of CEG members on duty or that of the visitors, the Gallery was always filled of joy. We hope that FGY Art Gallery will become the home of CEG members. You are all welcomed to come back to the Gallery regularly, and we look forward to the next opportunity to cooperate with CEG.

BLIA South Island President Bernie delivered a speech, thanking the members of the Embroiderers’ Guild for bringing their lifelong experiences to the Exhibition to share with the public. He further mentioned that the Exhibition had brought a lot of joy to the visitors and a lot of warmth to the community.

Afterwards, FGY Art Gallery presented souvenirs to CEG members including Marie Meyer, Ros McCarthy, embroidery course organizer Lorraine Hunger, and Canterbury Lace Society representative Ros Steward, to thank them for their dedication in making this exhibition and the Embroidery Classes a success.

During the three-month exhibition period, 2 to 3 members of the CEG would take turn to be stationed at the Gallery every day, and they would be present regardless of whether it was sunny or rainy. The on-duty members would guide visitors around, and, when not doing this, they would concentrate on their own embroidery works. The experiences at the Exhibition and the beautiful atmosphere of the Gallery had left CEG members with unforgettable memories. They promised to visit the Temple in future because they had formed a close and good relationship with the Temple through the Exhibition. Adding colour to the Exhibition were the two Embroidery Classes held during the Exhibition. These classes had received warm responses from the public and had brought the public closer to embroidery art.