07/05/2026
A Church of Scotland minister and his wife have won a top award for an art installation that conveys that "peace is made by many small actions and kind words".
"Peacemakers" by Rev Peter Gardner and Heidi Gardner was on display at Coventry Cathedral in England when it was recognised by judges from the Art and Christianity Journal.
The work comprised of a circular French knitting loom and brought together hundreds of visitors, encouraging them to distil the concept of peace down to a simple stitch and the smallest of actions.
Known professionally as Gardner & Gardner, the couple created the installation in response to the conflict that people encounter in their lives, bringing together elements of contemporary art practice, craftivism and Christian spiritual accompaniment.
Peter, Pioneer Minister for the Visual Arts in Glasgow, said he and his wife were "surprised and delighted" to win the A+C Temporary Art Award 2026, which is only presented once every five years.
Designed and fabricated in 2014 in response to a sense of helplessness in the face of the Russian annexation of Crimea, the loom has been sited in a variety of contexts throughout the UK over the years, such as cathedrals, parish churches, universities and arts venues.
Peter said: "This award is a lovely affirmation of all the people who have walked the loom with us over the years."
Peacemakers was installed in Coventry Cathedral's South Aisle in 2022,alongside the vibrant tones of a Lawrence Lee window and below an inscribed stone tablet, by Ralph Beyer.
Each day, during opening hours, it offered a quiet, hospitable space, where visitors were invited to join the artists in the repetitive, contemplative, simple action of knitting on the loom.
Gardner & Gardner said: "As we walked the loom, visitors knitting alongside us, many returning again and again, upon layer of knitted yarn gradually built up on the floor.
"A single row of stitches had been cast on by one pair of hands, hundreds more knitted thousands more, in between was the waiting, the listening and the praying.
"Walking the loom in the cathedral beside visitors, sometimes there was silence and sometimes there were stories: our work was to listen.
"This is the practice of Peacemakers –we wait, welcome, knit and listen, without hurry, trusting that the Spirit of God is already present."
After 10 days, the knitted yarn was cast off, the loom lifted away and a lighting rig lowered.
The cast-off end was attached to the rig and raised 75 feet to the ceiling, creating a single textile piece.
Gardner & Gardner said: "After 40 days, amongst a gathering of visitors, many of whom had walked the loom with us, the yarn was lowered, stretched out across the cathedral floor, carefully measured and all 685 feet rolled into a ball, which was then gifted to the community who had created it.
"Peace is made by many small actions and kind words."
Based at a studio in The Briggait in Glasgow, the duo come from different disciplines – Heidi from History of Art and Peter from Theology.
They make temporary, site-specific installations and interventions, often set within the context of worshipping communities and their buildings, introducing a conceptual element into the sacred architecture.
Using everyday objects and materials, many recycled, Gardner & Gardner reconfigure and transform them to reveal their latent value and beauty, a form of redemption and a hint that everything and everyone can be made new.
