Together We Mend

Together We Mend opens at St Albans Museum + Gallery on 25 November, running through to 10 December. It's a hand-crocheted blanket installation by artist and campaigner Holly Ringrose, created in partnership with the Domestic Abuse Alliance, and it sits in the Timeline Gallery within the Town Hall on St Peter's Street.

The installation was unveiled on White Ribbon Day, 25 November, and stays on display throughout the UN's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. It's rooted in the White Ribbon Day 2026 theme, 'It Takes All of Us'. At its heart is a hand-crocheted blanket featuring the white ribbon motif, which Ringrose worked on over the course of the campaign. Each stitch is meant to represent the slow, personal process of rebuilding a life after trauma.

There were a few ways to get involved while it was being made. Supporters could 'Sponsor a Row' with a minimum donation of £5, and a limited-edition handmade crochet white ribbon pin was produced in a run of only 200, with all proceeds going to White Ribbon UK. When the exhibition closes, the blanket will be privately donated to a local women's refuge.

This is Ringrose's second St Albans collaboration with the Alliance. In 2021, her series Unfinished Portraits: Women's Lives Cut Short was projected onto the city's Clock Tower on White Ribbon Day, which earned recognition from the Mayor. Entry to the gallery is free.