Title: Raffle Collective Abolition Quilt
Medium: Cotton, polyester, rayon, and wool fabrics
Size: 7 feet x 9 feet
Artist statement: The Abolition Quilt was hand-sewn by a group of volunteers specifically for the Let’s Get Free art show fundraiser. The quilt is 90” x 100” and is made to fit a full or queen sized bed. The pieced top of the quilt is a mix of cotton, polyester, rayon, and wool fabrics that were donated. The quilt is made with cotton batting in the middle and cotton fabric on the back.
There is a waterfall of inspiration: The idea for this quilt unfurled from a virtual drop-in creative space called Crafting Abolition led by the Black Unicorn Library & Archive Project and Let’s Get Free during the winter of 2022/2023. The Crafting Abolition space grew from attending the Stitch X Stitch conference in Chicago last summer. Stitch X Stitch (aka Stitching Abolition) is connected to a long, vibrant history of collaboration between quilt making, sewing bees, and political organizing. Amongst this history are the quilters and Freedom Quilting Bee of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who made quilts during the 1960s civil rights period to grow their community’s financial and political empowerment. We specifically looked at the quilts made by Mary Lee Bendolph, Rachel Carey George, Addie Pearl Nicholson, and Sue Willie Seltzer of Gee’s Bend. The Raffle Quilt Project showed us how successful, joyful and beautiful a group quilt and raffle could be.
Our quilt aspires to contribute spiritually and financially to the abolition work here in Pittsburgh. Visit the raffle page for this piece: https://lgf.betterworld.org/giveaways/abolition-quilt
Quilt Contributors: Katherine Anderson, Lizzie Anderson, etta cetera, Devon Cohen, Jess Cox, Elizabeth Fein, Joan Gaither, Griz, Mygenet Harris, Erika Johnson, Sarah Katchpoole, Diane Kuthy, Bekezela Mguni, Olivia Robinson, Ti Wilhelm
Quilt Coordinator: Olivia Robinson
Artist bio: https://sites.google.com/mica.edu/raffle-quilt-project/home