#quiltactivism

We must quilt empathy and sculpt change. We must cross the borders of cynicism and hate with our stories and sketches and songs sewn into the lining of our coats if it comes to that, remembering Lillian Hellman, imagining John Lennon, raising Maya Angelou.

From an editorial by Joni Rodgers in the Houston Chronicle.

An artistic approach championing greater mental health awareness. Reported by Sarah Cascone a couple of weeks ago @ ArtNet. Read the full article, here.

Photo Source:  Edwin J. Torres/the Mayoral Photo Office.

The new project, which is party of the city’s plan to deal with untreated mental illness and substance abuse, asks artists to contribute a patch to a community quilt. The campaign, held in collaboration with ThriveNYC, is a community-building exercise to inspire conversation and to let the public know that mental illness is treatable.

There are a lot of aesthetic questions worth asking about quilts at the present moment. And one of them is, “What will quilt preservation look like in the future?”

The AIDS quilt, for example, is transforming itself (once again) into a new modality of experiential interpretation, this time via technology. That quilts lend themselves so easily to this format is fascinating, for sure. But this digital experience can only be valuable as long as it provides even more meaning/context to the participant, to make up for what is lost not seeing the quilt (in person) for oneself.

Quote from the article:

“...Quilt enthusiasts will descend on the SIGGRAPH, a conference featuring innovations in graphics and interactive techniques, to experience the latest in hardware, software and services.