Home > Collective Isolation Project, week 4: Acts of kindness

Collective Isolation Project, week 4: Acts of kindness

a selection of small, round badges on a piece of cardboard
15 May 2020

Kindness is contagious. A cake left on a doorstep, the offer of a helping hand, a friendly hello from a neighbour you’ve only just met – kindness is the bedrock of our common humanity.

Girl Guides and Scouts are awarded badges for their acts of service.

If you were going to design a badge rewarding an act of kindness during this time, what would it look like?

Share your design in words or pictures – or better yet, craft a physical object for us. Send a photo or film clip of your design to our Facebook Memory Bank group and tag us with #SLVMemoryBank.

About this collection item

This collection of embroidered cloth badges from the first half of the 19th century was donated to the Library in 1978.

Some of the endeavours represented here would come in handy during this time of social isolation – especially ‘gardener’, ‘bee farmer’, ‘cook’ and, more poetically, ‘pathfinder.’ Possessing visual charm in spades, these badges also tell us about the personal qualities and skills that were valued at the time.

Details about this badge collection are scarce. It was possibly compiled by donor John Kippe, or may have been a sample collection produced by a badge manufacturer to show to potential customers.

How to respond

Please feel welcome to respond as creatively or literally as you wish.

We collect all kinds of materials including photos, diary entries, letters, written lists, oral histories, poems and objects ... our collection policy covers almost everything you could imagine, so try us!

If you contribute, we may contact you to discuss collecting and using your images, stories, objects and experiences. We may not be able to accept everything, but we will endeavour to do so! With your permission, your contributions may be added to the State Collection or used in future Library programs.

About The Collective Isolation Project

The Collective Isolation Project aims to cement this current moment in history, and is our inaugural Memory Bank campaign.

Find out more about Memory Bank, including specific details about how to contribute each week.

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