Commonwealth Foundation launches ‘Commonwealth Quilt’

Commonwealth citizens have been invited to consider a prompt ‘thread’ and respond to the call to action from the Commonwealth Poet Laureate - ‘What thread do you bring to the Commonwealth?’. Their creative responses will culminate in a virtual Commonwealth ‘Quilt’. The invitation to participate was launched by the Commonwealth Foundation on March 3 at an event in Antigua and Barbuda, where the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda made his remarks.

Expressions of interest are open via the Commonwealth Foundation, with submissions which opened on Commonwealth Day, March 9, and will close on May 9.

“The Commonwealth embraces countless peoples and many cultural nationalities. A quilt that embodies the diversity and inclusiveness of this vital multilateral institution, is a welcome sign of our limitless comity and desired well-being. Congratulations to the participants! And may the spirit of the Commonwealth find expression in myriad styles and materials,” said PM Gaston Browne.

In the lead-up to the 2026 Commonwealth People’s Forum, being held in Antigua and Barbuda in November, the Commonwealth Foundation hopes to tap into the collective creativity of Commonwealth citizens and add to the fabric of the modern Commonwealth. Participants are asked to respond creatively to a prompt by the Commonwealth Poet Laureate, Selina Tusitala Marsh – ‘What will you thread?’. By drawing on personal experience and cultural identity, the initiative hopes to inspire creativity. Entries will be curated and symbolically woven together to create a Commonwealth-wide ‘Quilt’.

Participants are encouraged to submit entries in a variety of digital formats – visual art, literary art, and performance art – allowing for open creative expression across the Commonwealth. The project will culminate in a curated in-person exhibition at the People’s Forum in Antigua and Barbuda in November 2026 as well as a corresponding digital gallery on the Commonwealth Foundation Website.

The launch formed part of a wider series of engagements held by the Commonwealth Foundation with Caribbean civil society as part of the Path to Antigua, leading up to the Commonwealth People’s Forum later this year.

Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation, Razmi Farook said: “Creativity is our most resilient tool in this very volatile world, and we hope that through the Commonwealth Quilt, we can call forth the collective creativity across the Commonwealth to shape our collective futures.”

Commonwealth Poet Laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh, said: “The quilt doesn’t ask for perfection — it asks for what you actually have. Your gold. Your grief. Your yet-to-be-told stories. Your belief. The stuff you thought wasn’t good enough. That’s the cloth. The Commonwealth Quilt is not mine alone to make. The question is yours now. What will you thread?”

List of Commonwealth Countries of which citizens are eligible to enter:

Africa: Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia. Overseas Territories: Saint Helena, Tristan Da Cunha, Ascension Island.

Asia: Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka.

Canada and Europe: Canada, Cyprus, Malta, United Kingdom. Overseas Territories: Gibraltar, Falkland Islands.

Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. Overseas Territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Pacific: Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Overseas Territories: Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn.