Dancing Together: A Ballad is bringing art, stories, and community together in Jersey.
Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen, known for turning everyday items into amazing art, teamed up with ArtHouse Jersey for this special project.
It started as an outdoor display over Charing Cross in St Helier and is now being changed into an indoor exhibition at Capital House.
The outdoor display was part of the Butterfield Public Art Series and featured a canopy made from over 600 shirts donated by people on the island.
These weren’t just old shirts—they were full of memories and stories shared by locals.
Picture walking down the street and looking up to see a colorful display of stories floating above you. Amazing, right?
Well, that’s what Kaikkonen’s work is all about.
It shows how clothing can carry stories and bring people together.
Tom Dingle, the Director of ArtHouse Jersey, was excited by the number of people who wanted to participate in the project.
Islanders donated shirts that were special to them: some reminded them of loved ones who had passed away, others marked big achievements like weight loss, and a few came from past relationships they wanted to move on from.
Dingle said the stories behind the shirts made the artwork even more meaningful and uniquely connected to the community.
Collection points for shirts were set up all over the island, including places like Ransoms Garden Centre, Citizens Advice Jersey, and Jersey Library.
By the time the deadline arrived, more than 600 shirts had been collected.
This was more than expected and added to the colorful display that hung over St Helier’s high street from mid-August to mid-October.
It had people talking and stopping to look as they passed by.
Now, the outdoor part of the project has ended, but it’s not the end of the journey for these shirts.
They are being turned into an indoor exhibition at ArtHouse Jersey’s Capital House.
And this new version, called Dancing Together: A Ballad, opens on 31 October and runs until 1 December.
People can visit and get a closer look at the shirts and the stories behind them, so it’s a more personal experience.
Kaikkonen’s style of art has a focus on taking old things and giving them new life.
She believes in reusing items that have already been part of someone’s life and turning them into something fresh.
This idea is perfectly shown in Dancing Together, where shirts that were once worn in daily life are now part of a shared story.
The exhibition invites everyone to think about how even small things like clothing can tell stories and bring us all together.
To make the exhibition even more special, Paul Journeaux will lead storytelling sessions, and Portuguese musicians Rui Figueredo and Abel Salgado will provide music.
These events will happen on 9 November at 16:00 GMT, 17 November at 15:00 GMT, and 23 November at 16:00 GMT.
ArtHouse Jersey hopes this project will help people feel closer to each other and think about the stories these shirts tell.
The Butterfield Public Art Series wants to celebrate Jersey’s culture and community, and Dancing Together is just the start.
This exhibition shows that art can be powerful and meaningful, connecting people through shared experiences.
The exhibition is open every day except Mondays from 10:30 GMT to 18:00 GMT.
So, there’s plenty of time to visit, learn, and feel the stories told through these shirts.
If you’re on the island, don’t miss the chance to see how art can bring a community together in such a special way.