This Is England

Aim

Help create a touring exhibition and outdoor flags so This Is England can travel across the UK, transforming the England flag into a symbol

Help take This Is England on tour

This Is England is a huge community-made artwork created from reclaimed England and Union Jack flags, stitched together with flags, fabrics and personal contributions from people across Thanet.

It began as a response to the growing number of national flags appearing on lampposts, roadsides and public spaces. For some people, these flags represented pride. For others, particularly refugees, asylum seekers and people from migrant backgrounds, they felt threatening or exclusionary.

I wanted to ask a different question:

Could we transform a divisive symbol into one that represents everyone who lives here?

Image 1: A St George's flag attached to a lamppost in Margate, Thanet. Credit: Photo by Doug Gillen.

How the artwork was made

I invited people from across Thanet to come together through a series of free sewing workshops. The workshops were led by Jacquie Ansell, Kate Lynn-Devere, Angela Wooi and me.

People brought fabrics, flags and stories connected to their families, cultures, identities and memories. Some were experienced sewers; many had never taken part in a community artwork before.

73 people took part, including families, children, older residents, refugees, asylum seekers and people from many different cultural backgrounds. We stitched, talked, drank tea and shared stories about migration, identity, racism, national pride and belonging. 

Everyone involved gave their time voluntarily. I also worked unpaid, and the funding received from Art Cry helped towards materials and delivery but did not cover the full cost of making the artwork.

What began as an idea for a flag grew into something much larger than any of us expected.

Image 2: Close-up of embroidery work in progress during a community textile workshop. Photo by Doug Gillen.

The finished work

The final artwork measures approximately 20 feet wide by 12 feet tall - huge! 

It is made from layers of reclaimed flags, stitched fabrics and three-dimensional handmade elements. Because of its scale, weight, and complexity, it cannot be flown safely outdoors like an ordinary flag. Rain and strong winds would damage it, so the original artwork must be protected and shown indoors. 

The original work will now begin touring as an indoor exhibition, accompanied by a short documentary film by Doug Gillen of Fifth Wall TV showing how it was created.

Our first confirmed exhibition will take place at St George’s Church in Ramsgate from Wednesday 22 July to Saturday 22 August.

This is the beginning of the next chapter.

Image 3: The completed community textile artwork is displayed on the beach beside Ramsgate harbour. Photo: Doug Gillen.

Our vision

The plan is to develop two connected touring versions of This Is England.

The original artwork

The original stitched textile will tour indoor venues such as churches, galleries, libraries, civic buildings, schools, theatres and community spaces.

It can be shown alongside the film, talks, workshops, poetry, discussions and events exploring identity and belonging.

Outdoor flags

We also want to create lightweight photographic versions that can be flown outdoors.

Many organisations and community groups have already expressed an interest in displaying the work, but they need a version suitable for a flagpole or an outside wall. Ours is simply too large and heavy! 

To make this possible, a specialist art photographer will photograph the original artwork in sections and digitally piece the images together into one high-resolution master image.

This will allow us to print several durable, lightweight flags and banners in different sizes. These could fly outside churches, schools, libraries, community centres, public buildings and cultural venues without putting the original artwork at risk.

The flags will allow This Is England to appear in several places at once while the original artwork continues its indoor tour.

Image 4: A child taking part in a creative textile workshop. Photo: Doug Gillen.

Why we need your support

The project was created through an enormous amount of voluntary work. Now it needs proper infrastructure and paid support if it is going to travel safely and reach wider audiences.

The money raised will help us pay for:

Professional photography

A professional photographer photographs the artwork in sections and creates the high-resolution image needed for printing, publicity, documentation and future touring.

Because the artwork is so large and contains detailed stitched and three-dimensional elements, this is specialist work that cannot be achieved with a single ordinary photograph.

A safe touring display system

We need a reusable hanging frame or support system so the original work can be installed safely in different venues.

A proper modular system will protect the artwork, make installation more consistent and prevent each host venue from having to invent a new hanging method.

Outdoor flags and banners

We want to print several lightweight versions in a range of practical sizes.

These will include flagpole versions and hanging banners for venues that do not have a flagpole but would still like to display the work outside or in a window, entrance or foyer.

Transport and installation

The original artwork is large, heavy and fragile.

Funding will contribute towards protective packaging, local and national transport, van hire, mileage and the practical costs of installing and removing the work at each venue.

Tour coordination

Organising a tour involves much more than moving the artwork from one building to another.

We need paid assistance to contact venues, arrange dates, coordinate transport and installation, organise publicity, manage enquiries, support events and keep the project running smoothly.

Publicity and exhibition materials

We also need posters, exhibition information, printed materials and digital publicity so audiences know when and where they can experience the work.

Image 5: Workshop leader Angela Wooi with her flag contribution. Photo: Doug Gillen.

Why £10,000?

Our ambition is to raise £10,000 to take THIS IS ENGLAND on tour across the UK.

This funding will enable us to professionally photograph the original artwork, produce exhibition-quality reproductions, and cover the costs of transporting and installing the work in venues and public spaces.

Every pound we raise will help us take the project further. If we don't reach the full target, we'll scale the project to match the funds available, creating fewer touring works, exhibiting in fewer locations, or delivering the project in stages.

This is why we've chosen the 'Keep What You Raise' option for our Crowdfunder. Rather than risking receiving nothing, every donation will help us move the project forward, however far we get towards our goal.

The original artwork already exists. Your support will determine how far its message can travel.

What your support will make possible

Your contribution will help turn a locally made community artwork into a touring project that can reach people across the UK.

It will allow us to:

• Protect and professionally document the original artwork;
• Tour it safely to indoor venues;
• Create outdoor flags that communities can fly;
• Share the film and the stories behind the work;
• Pay people fairly for the specialist work needed to make the tour happen;
• Keep exhibitions and community events accessible wherever possible.

Image 6: One of our workshop participants holding a flag representing their identity during the project. Photo: Doug Gillen.

Why this matters

The project has already shown that art can create space for conversations that are difficult to have elsewhere.

Participants described wanting to contribute to something positive, stand against racism, celebrate connection and reclaim a sense of pride that felt inclusive rather than exclusionary. One participant wrote that they wanted “to bring people together in hope and kindness,” while another described the workshops as a way to turn something divisive and negative into community care and solidarity. 

Not everyone agreed with the project, and that is also part of its importance.

The artwork has generated strong public discussion about flags, identity, nationalism and who gets to belong. It does not try to close that conversation. It creates a space in which the conversation can continue. 

Image 7: Close-up of embroidery work in one of our workshops. Photo: Doug Gillen.

About me

I’m Emily Peasgood, an artist and composer based in Thanet.

I create ambitious public artworks with communities, using creativity to explore identity, belonging, place and shared experience.

My previous work has been created with organisations including Turner Contemporary, Creative Folkestone, the British Library and Folkestone Triennial. I am also an Ivor Novello Award-winning composer. 

For me, This Is England belongs to everyone who helped make it. The next step is to make sure it can be seen, discussed and shared by many more people.

Image 8: Project lead Emily Peasgood and volunteer Beth working on textile artworks. Photo: Jessica Clements.

Join the next chapter

By supporting this Crowdfunder, you will help us take This Is England beyond its first exhibition and into communities across the country.

Whether you donate, share the campaign, offer a venue or help us make a connection, you will be helping this artwork continue its journey.

Together, we can help transform a symbol of division into a shared statement of belonging.

Image 9: A St George's flag flying beside open countryside in Thanet. Photo: Doug Gillen.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 1st September 2026 at 12:33am