What
we
do
Creative Health
Programmes
About Pink S
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Pink Stitch 2025 brings together women with a lived experience of breast cancer to process their breast cancer journey’s through textile art.
Throughout June and July 2025, we’ve supported a group of 10-15 women with creating textile self portraits of themselves. Through these workshops, our participants have connected with new women on similar journeys to themselves, but they’ve learned a new skill in the process and found a creative way of seeing themselves and their breast cancer experience in a different light.
During September 2025, we will be running Virtual Pink Stitch, where those women who were unable to attend the workshops are able to create a smaller textile artistic piece which will be later featured, alongside the portraits, at our Pink Stitch Exhibition during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
More details on Virtual Pink Stitch and the Pink Stitch Exhibition below
Timeline
June 2025
The start of our Pink Stitch in person workshops
July 2025
Pink Stitch workshops come to an end and portraits are finalised
August 2025
Virtual Pink Stitch is launched
September 2025
Virtual Pink Stitch takes place
Pink Stitch Exhibition at the Crafts Council, London
October 2025
Timeline
October 2023
We hosted our first three photography workshops at Church Street Market.
May 2024
Two additional photography sessions took place in Maida Vale.
August 2024
Our journey began with six poetry workshops about Edgware Road.
March 2024
We showcased the Church Street project through a community and digital exhibition.
June 2024
We held our first public exhibition at Grand Junction.
2025
Highlights
from the workshops
Over 7 weeks, a group of women came together to sew, stitch, and share their stories. Each session offered space for creativity and care, combining hands-on textile making with conversation, reflection, and one dedicated creative writing workshop. Participants created personal portrait pieces, each with a short written response exploring identity, illness, resilience, or joy. The workshops were led by renowned textile artist Emily Jo Gibbs, known for her delicate hand-stitched portraits. Together, we stitched not just fabric, but community, expressing strength, vulnerability, and solidarity through every thread.
Our
artists
This project is co-created by women with lived experience of breast cancer, supported by a team of artists and facilitators.
Pink Stitch 2025 is just the beginning so meet the fantastic women behind Pink Stitch and it’s future in supporting early breast cancer detection and encouraging regular breast checking.
Virtual
Pink Stitch
Whilst many women were not able to commit to the in-person workshop series, we still wanted to provide them with the opportunity to contribute to our Pink Stitch Exhibition as well as getting to experience the power of utilising creative energy to process lived experiences.
The sign ups for Virtual Pink Stitch are now closed and we can’t wait to see what’s produced from over 70 women who signed up!
Pink S
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ch Exhibition
YOU ARE INVITED
Pink Stitch Exhibition 2025 🩷
📍Location: Crafts Council, London
🗓️ Date: 8th to 11th October 2025
Come and see the incredible portraits hand stitched by our Pink Stitch Participants.
Throughout June and July 2025, 12 women with a lived experience of breast cancer, all in very different stages of their breast cancer journeys, joined us for a 6 week workshop where they created and hand stitched their very own self portraits as a reflection of themselves and their breast cancer experience.
The success of our in-person workshops encouraged us to open up a new opportunity to women across the UK who couldn't attend the workshops in person but still wanted to be a part of this project, during which, over 70 hand stitched pieces were created by our fantastic virtual participants.
These opportunities were created for the participants to come together, learn a new skill, process their breast cancer journey in a new and creative way, but also help us create an exhibition with a big mission - increase the awareness of regular breast checking, and in turn, early breast cancer diagnosis.
This is where we invite YOU to be a part of this mission to join us at the Pink Stitch Exhibition: check today, share tomorrow, and bring a friend who needs this reminder.
In females in the UK, breast cancer is the most common cancer, with around 56,400 new cases every year but Breast cancer survival has doubled in the last 50 years in the UK and this comes down to early detection and for women everywhere to be proactive in checking their breasts.
Every woman that attended our workshops and has taken part in Virtual Pink Stitch has their own story. Come and see it for yourself and be a part of a big change in female health diagnosis.
Here is what to expect during Pink Stitch Exhibition Week:
Tuesday 7th October 2025
Press and VIP Event - Invitation Only
Wednesday 8th October 2025
10am to 4pm - Public Viewing
Thursday 9th October 2025
10am to 12pm - Public Viewing
12pm to 1pm - Creative health focused tour of the exhibition plus participant speakers
1.30pm to 3.30pm - Textile workshop with artist, Emily Jo Gibbs
Reserve your tour or workshop spot now here. Only those with confirmed bookings are eligible to attend the tour and workshop.
Friday 10th October 2025
10am to 4pm - Public Viewing
Saturday 11th October 2025
10am to 4pm - Public Viewing
During public viewing hours, members of the public are welcome to come in and have a walk around the exhibition and explore the fantastic work created by our participants as well as finding out more about Cayr Charity. Don't miss the opportunity to become a part of our mission beyond the exhibition.
Please note: Tours and workshops require advance booking, and the VIP night is invitation only.
For questions, email admin@cayrcharity.org.uk with ‘Pink Stitch Exhibition Query’ in the subject.
Thank you to
our partners
We extend our gratitude to our funders who have made this project possible.
This project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and from Another Way Women’s Foundation.
If you would like to contribute to our breast cancer programme, please donate here.
Feedback from
our participants
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“I am so enjoying the workshops and love that us cancer fighters/survivors are able to access these opportunities you/Cayr are enabling. ”
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“Thank you for giving us these opportunities…they are a bright spot in what can be a long, hard slog.”
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“As a group we get the chance to learn about others ‘journeys’ and support/befriend each other.”
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“I have never experienced anything like this, so I was a bit hesitant in signing up, however I am so glad I did!”
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“Everyone was very friendly and supportive, it helps that everyone has experienced Breast Cancer so I have some very positive advice from women who are further along in their journey. ”
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“I really look forward to my Pink Stitch session every week and it has helped with my confidence and inspired me to try some sewing at home. ”
OUR FUNDERS
