Memory Map of the World
an evolving participatory textile artwork connecting communities, places and people
Memory Map of Eastern Europe (2025–2026),
the first completed chapter of the ongoing participatory project Memory Map of the World.
Memory Map of the World is an ongoing participatory textile artwork that invites people to capture memories connected to the place we are currently at. Each contribution becomes part of a growing collective map stitched by communities across the globe.
The project began with the Memory Map of Eastern Europe.
In May 2025, I was invited to a Tiny Spaces, Deep Connections art residency at Communitism in Athens, Greece. Travelling from Estonia, there was one rule: no flying. For ecological reasons, I travelled overland using only public transport — trains and buses.
The journey itself became an integral part of the artwork. Along the way, I captured my memories, encounters and impressions through hand embroidery and plant printing, while inviting local communities and artists to contribute their own memories by embroidering small fabric squares. In every country I visited, I organised co-creation sessions where participants were invited to capture the essence of the place where we met, or to embroider a message that felt meaningful to them. Each embroidered square later became part of a map, and together these individual contributions formed a collective portrait of Eastern Europe.
Altogether, I travelled through 18 countries on the way there and back. Along the route, 100 people contributed to the project, together creating 140 embroidered patches, which I later stitched together into this patchwork blanket: Memory Map of Eastern Europe.
A huge thank you to everyone who became part of this journey! ❤️
More than a record of a journey across Europe, the artwork has become a map of encounters, conversations, friendships and shared experiences — a reminder that places are shaped not only by geography, but by the memories and stories of the people who inhabit them.
The first completed chapter of the project will be exhibited first in Oulu, Finland, during the Tracks and Practices Symposium (21–22 August 2026) and throughout my ITU Artlab gallery takeover until the 29th of August 2026.
But the journey does not end here.
The process turned out to be a beautiful way to slow down, connect with people, share stories and create together. The project has now evolved into The Memory Map of the World, continuing to grow with every stitch, every journey and every new collaboration.
Communities around the world are invited to contribute their own embroidered memories, gradually expanding this collective textile map into a living archive of places, people and shared human experiences.
Would you like to host a Memory Map workshop or exhibition?
Memory Map of the World so far:
🌍 26 countries involved
👥 180+ participants contributed
🧵 240+ embroidered memories created
🪡 One ever-growing collective artwork