Quilt for Peace
Saturday, May 31st 2003
Washington, DC
The Emergency Anti-War Quilting Bee will culminate in a large scale-performance/protest/quilting bee on the National Mall Saturday, May 31st. Quilting, a traditional American art form, has provided women with a means of expression and exchange of ideas for over 200 years. [Not to mention its value in providing bed coverings] Drawing upon this history, DOL will give women and men an opportunity to voice their peaceful and patriotic anti-war sentiment and transcend differences in age, religion, social and economic backgrounds. Unlike the Vietnam-era peace movement, the peace movement today is comprised of students, grandparents, and everyone in between. DOL embraces the Emergency Anti-War Quilting Bee as an especially appropriate and timely vehicle of expression because of its cross-generational appeal.
In weekly quilting sessions, members of the collective will provide sewing demonstrations and individuals will be invited to create 2 ft. x 2 ft. finished squares with an unlimited amount of artistic freedom. Participants do not need to have previous sewing experience or an arts background, just a pro-peace philosophy and a willingness to be part of the quilting bee.
A Protest Unlike Any Other - Because of the communal nature of creating quilts we are staging an atypical demonstration/performance. There will be no chanting, no bull horns, no posters, just women and men assembled on the National Mall sewing together the final sections of the quilts, which will enable us to focus quietly on a single message: peace.
Following the demonstration the quilt will then be given to Iraqi refugees as gesture of solidarity against war. The quilt will not remain a symbolic piece of art, but instead become a contribution to the individuals most affected by this violent conflict. source