Threads of Our Community: The Story of a Quilt

Rochester Public Library

The stars aligned in Rochester, Minnesota, for a number of women working on a diversity project.  What started as a “little quilt” idea turned into a well-funded 55-square community collaboration when the Rochester Public Library and several volunteers teamed up to create a diversity-themed quilt project.

Inspired by a community art project in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, Gail Harris, volunteer coordinator at the Rochester Public Library, saw a perfect opportunity to pair the creation of a “little quilt” highlighting Rochester’s diversity with the “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit that the Mayo Clinic was bringing to the library from May-September 2010.  Such a quilt would both capture the skills of different cultures and serve as a time piece or historical record of Rochester’s diversity and unity.

Gail enlisted quilter Annette Sjolund, a Friend of the Rochester Public Library, and she, in turn, recruited her sister, Karen Koeller, who had 32 years of experience in community education.  These three women spearheaded an amazing community partnership that came to fruition in just eight short months.

Karen began by securing some funding for materials from the Rochester Quilters Sew-ciety to which she and her sister belong. She was also the primary designer of the quilt and did research on the web to find a pattern for the quilt.  She found an inspiring“Quilt of Belonging” project in Canada, which included 263 blocks in a collaborative traveling museum-quality quilt depicting all the ethnicities in Canada.  Upon contacting them, Karen received many tips about the management of such a project.

From the Canadian project Karen also got the idea of booklet documenting the artists for each block.  She recruited Rochester’s community education photography teacher, Karen Davis, to photograph the quilt blocks and obtained a commitment from the Community Education arm of Rochester Public Schools to print the booklet.

After the funding was secured, the materials were gathered, and the project design was approved by the Rochester Public Library’s Diversity Council, a subcommittee of library staff that focuses on diversity issues, the group of women created packages to distribute to potential quilters.  The packages included a legal release that made the blocks the property of the library, which was another recommendation from the Canadian group.

The next step was to approach the Rochester Post Bulletin about publishing an article for the purpose of recruiting artists to submit a quilt square reflecting their culture or heritage.  In the beginning, the organizers were concerned about getting enough participants and wondered if people from diverse cultures would participate.  As members of the Rochester Quilters Sew-ciety, Karen and Annette knew there was not much diversity in that group.  They wondered if all the submissions would come from the white Midwestern members.  When the library staff ventured out to various cultural groups, they were told, “Nobody in our community does that kind of work anymore—it is easier to go to Minneapolis to buy it.”

As word spread, however, they did find many quilters who were enthusiastic about creating the squares.  In fact, many more than expected jumped in.  One hundred and fifty packets were distributed in the community.  Ultimately, 57 squares were submitted and 55 were included in the quilt.  Two were second entries from the same artists.  The blocks represent 40 different cultures.  “There was just so much diversity there, it was just beautiful,” agreed Gail, Annette and Karen.

All 55 squares were attached to a 77” x 150” quilted background.  Karen and Annette quilted the black background with different sizes of circles in order to extend the theme of inclusivity, diversity, and oneness.  They also used a color scheme to enhance the border and visually tie all the blocks together.  A construction company volunteered to hang the quilt in the Rochester Public Library, where it graces the entrance above the stairwell to the second floor.

A copy of the beautifully photographed book that tells the stories of each artist and the meaning of their design, alongside a picture of the quilt block and a picture of the artist, is on display on the second floor of the library.  The stories typically tell about the artist’s cultural or ethnic heritage and describe how the person got involved in quilt making.  They also describe the type of method used to make the square, such as embroidery, beading or rosemaling.  Karen noted that this book will keep the quilt’s legacy alive.  The book jacket describes the effort as “a S(outh) E(astern) Minnesota community project that shows there is a place for all in the fabric of society.”

After the quilt was hung, the Friends of the Library group hosted a quilt launch party and invited all the quilters and their families.  The three women who organized the project were amazed to see participants so “stunned” when they saw the final product. They are each proud of the quilt and, given its size, they are amazed at the ease with which it all came together.  “People really got into the project.”  They spoke of seeing the “oneness of it—yet all the individuality.”  The quilt fit in perfectly with the theme of the race exhibit: the social construction of race.  Gail thinks the long term effect of the project “is the important visual reminder that we live in a diverse community, yet how much we have in common.”  She reports that it was surprising to some that different cultures have similar styles of squares.  She also spoke of the harmony in diversity.  Gail reports that library patrons are still commenting on the quilt.

For example, a few artists expressed dissatisfaction “on religious grounds” with a square representing the gay and lesbian community.  The library group’s response was to include the square because “they are part of our community—everyone is a part of our community.” Definitions of culture were also stretched.

While the quilt hanging in the library allows all “to see the diversity of this community,” the three women also spoke of the impact it had on their own lives. A significant aspect of this collaborative project was that it “stretched” the participants.  For example, a few artists expressed dissatisfaction “on religious grounds” with a square representing the gay and lesbian community.  The library group’s response was to include the square because “they are part of our community—everyone is a part of our community.” Definitions of culture were also stretched.  One artist submitted a quilted brain and claimed it represented “geek culture” or scientific culture.  Karen and Gail reported, “It blew us all away….  It made us realize that it is not just heritage that makes us diverse.”  The subcommittee concluded that the artist had made an effective case for her square and they included it in the quilt.  Another artist used the 1960’s counterculture as a theme because it had provided her with a sense of belonging for the first time and enabled her to claim an identity.  Again the committee accepted her square.

Gail stated that the project “challenged my preconceptions.  And it is good to have that happen, to think and to reflect.”  Annette echoed her sentiments when she said, “We often believe there is a right way and wrong way—well, not always.  People are people are people are people.”  All three women agreed the project challenged their assumptions of what is and is not culture.

Despite the success of this project, the participants also agree that much yet to be done.  For instance, Karen noted that the membership of their Quilters Sew-ciety is still predominantly white Midwestern women. Their membership hasn’t changed as a result of the project.  Segregation of cultures remains in Rochester’s quilting community, as well as in the community at large.

Nonetheless, the group won acclaim from the Minnesota Library Association, which awarded them first place in the Evy Nordley MLA Friends of the Library best project competition. Winning the award has left these three women “just amazed.  It made us realize just how amazing it really is.”  They are now preparing an entry for the National Library Association’s competition.

Evy Nordley MLA Friends of the Library Award

Lasting impact?  “Every time someone stops and looks at it, it is an important visual reminder that we live in a diverse community and how much in common we have with different cultures,” says Gail.  “There is embroidery from England next to embroidery from China and Sudan; there is patchwork from Nepal next to patchwork from Pennsylvania… It was amazing to see difference, and then you see commonality, the things that we all share.”

Do you want to create a community art project to educate?

Steps to Consider:

1. Research type of artwork and theme for education

2. Recruit funders and collaborators

3. Recruit artists

4. Think about publicity

5. Design venue for public viewing

6. Publicize and hold event for unveiling

7. Plan for ongoing impact