Archiving The Monument Quilt
Tax deductible
Dear FORCE friends, supporters, and community members,
If you're on this page, you're probably familiar with FORCE's project the Monument Quilt. Just in case -- the Monument Quilt is a collection of over 3,000 quilted stories from victims/survivors of sexual and domestic violence and abuse from around the world, with a particular focus on the USA, Mexico, and Indigenous Nations within North America. Pieced together by volunteers over 7 years in our Baltimore studio, under the guidance of a staff collective and a dedicated volunteer leadership team, the Monument Quilt culminated in 2019 in an enormous 3-day display and Healing Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Over 50,000 people encountered the display in person, and hundreds of thousands engaged online. This poignant, once-in-a-lifetime event was unforgettable to those of us who put our sweat into pulling it off. Its impact continues to radiate through our world as the countless people who have interacted with the Monument Quilt see survivorhood, trauma, and community healing in a new light.
In honor of the enormous efforts and artistic craft that created the Monument Quilt, FORCE is now working to ensure the quilt continues to be seen. Our goal is to find a home for each of the 750 blocks of the Monument Quilt. We are in talks with museums, community centers, businesses, and individual collectors who seek to honor the Quilt's message and take care in its preservation. STAY TUNED on this page for updates on where the Quilt is traveling!
Archiving a project like the Monument Quilt is a lot of work. We are going through with it because we deeply believe in ensuring each piece is cared for and continues to be viewed by the public in a sustainable way (in terms of labor). Here is some of the work your donation to Archiving the Monument Quilt will support:
1. Outreach around the world to museums, universities, collectors, community centers, healing organizations, and more to find people who want to take care of a piece of the Monument Quilt.
2. Maintenance of relationships and communications during acquisitions processes with museums or other kinds of organizations, which can be lengthy especially with COVID-19 issues.
3. Updating and maintaining the website and https://app.themonumentquilt.org/, which keeps track of the physical location of each block.
4. Physical care of the Monument Quilt in its storage facility, to pull out quilts to show in person to potential collectors and keep the archive in an organized state.
5. Social media updates about the quilt and archiving, to keep the community engaged in our work and continue to spread the word about the Monument Quilt and anti-violence work.
6. Training volunteers through each aspect of this process, so they can learn the unique work of trauma-based community art projects.
THANK YOU for your support and interest in The Monument Quilt. We are committed to being by and for survivors, and the honoring art and healing through finding loving homes for each quilt. Stay tuned for news about our archiving adventures!
Wishing you well,
Shanti Flagg
Monument Quilt Archivist in Chief!
If you're on this page, you're probably familiar with FORCE's project the Monument Quilt. Just in case -- the Monument Quilt is a collection of over 3,000 quilted stories from victims/survivors of sexual and domestic violence and abuse from around the world, with a particular focus on the USA, Mexico, and Indigenous Nations within North America. Pieced together by volunteers over 7 years in our Baltimore studio, under the guidance of a staff collective and a dedicated volunteer leadership team, the Monument Quilt culminated in 2019 in an enormous 3-day display and Healing Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Over 50,000 people encountered the display in person, and hundreds of thousands engaged online. This poignant, once-in-a-lifetime event was unforgettable to those of us who put our sweat into pulling it off. Its impact continues to radiate through our world as the countless people who have interacted with the Monument Quilt see survivorhood, trauma, and community healing in a new light.
In honor of the enormous efforts and artistic craft that created the Monument Quilt, FORCE is now working to ensure the quilt continues to be seen. Our goal is to find a home for each of the 750 blocks of the Monument Quilt. We are in talks with museums, community centers, businesses, and individual collectors who seek to honor the Quilt's message and take care in its preservation. STAY TUNED on this page for updates on where the Quilt is traveling!
Archiving a project like the Monument Quilt is a lot of work. We are going through with it because we deeply believe in ensuring each piece is cared for and continues to be viewed by the public in a sustainable way (in terms of labor). Here is some of the work your donation to Archiving the Monument Quilt will support:
1. Outreach around the world to museums, universities, collectors, community centers, healing organizations, and more to find people who want to take care of a piece of the Monument Quilt.
2. Maintenance of relationships and communications during acquisitions processes with museums or other kinds of organizations, which can be lengthy especially with COVID-19 issues.
3. Updating and maintaining the website and https://app.themonumentquilt.org/, which keeps track of the physical location of each block.
4. Physical care of the Monument Quilt in its storage facility, to pull out quilts to show in person to potential collectors and keep the archive in an organized state.
5. Social media updates about the quilt and archiving, to keep the community engaged in our work and continue to spread the word about the Monument Quilt and anti-violence work.
6. Training volunteers through each aspect of this process, so they can learn the unique work of trauma-based community art projects.
THANK YOU for your support and interest in The Monument Quilt. We are committed to being by and for survivors, and the honoring art and healing through finding loving homes for each quilt. Stay tuned for news about our archiving adventures!
Wishing you well,
Shanti Flagg
Monument Quilt Archivist in Chief!
Organizer
Shanti Flagg
Organizer
Baltimore, MD
Bmore Empowered Inc
Beneficiary