Few things bring people together more beautifully than art. Whether it’s music, sculpture, paint or fabric, the arts are a way for us to express ourselves, our cultures and our common humanity.

But rarely do we witness one singular piece of art truly encapsulating the creativity of our human family.

At first glance, the dress created for the Red Dress project is quite obviously stunning. It looks as though it could be worn by a royal, though a royal from where? The style, colors and patterns of the dress don’t shout any particular country or culture; in fact, we can point to different elements of it and say it looks like it belongs on any continent.

One dress, 51 countries, 14 years in the making

There’s a reason for that. The dress is made out of 87 pieces of burgundy silk dupion, which have spent the past 14 years being sent around the world to be embroidered by 380 people from 51 countries: a truly global, multicultural creation.

Of those 380 embroiderers, 141 were commissioned artisans who were paid for their work and receive a portion of all ongoing exhibition fees. The rest were volunteers who contributed their........

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