Quilt A Better World: Heroes Working for the Greater Good

There are those among us who make personal sacrifices, who forgo comfort and safety, while striving to make the world a better place. They are persistent and dogged in their determination to lift, to save, to shed light, and to inspire. People who are the helpers, the speakers, the ones who act. They soldier on in spite of persecution or personal risk. And they seek to help one lone person or the entire planet. They represent the very best of humanity. This juried invitational exhibit of 40 quilts honors these women and men. The folks who are on a mission to quilt a better world.

Curated and juried by Susan Brubaker Knapp and Lyric Montgomery Kinard, this exhibition premiered at the International Quilt Festival, Houston, in 2019 and traveled to other notable venues over a period of two years. The following pages represent a selection of these quilts. For more information about this exhibition, visit ABetterWorldExhibition.com.

School Strike by Natalya Khorover Aikens

“Greta Thunberg is a Swedish schoolgirl who, at age 15, began protesting outside the Swedish parliament about the need for immediate action to combat climate change and has since become an outspoken climate activist. An estimated 1.4 million students in 112 countries around the world joined her call in striking and protesting. In March 2019, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. I would nominate her as well; she is my hero.”

—Natalya Khorover Aikens

The Advocate by Earamichia Brown

“An advocate is someone who fights for something or someone, especially someone who fights for the rights of others. Janaye Ingram is the definition of advocacy. Justice, equity, women’s rights, and activism are not only words, they are ways of life. These are ideals that must be fought for and they have found their ultimate fighter, Janaye Ingram. She currently serves as the Director of National Partnerships for Airbnb. Ingram also served as the Head of Logistics and a National Organizer with the Women’s March on Washington in addition to being a co-founder and board member of Women’s March, Inc.”

—Earamichia Brown

Yayoi by Sandra Bruce

“Yayoi is a hero to me. She survived an abusive childhood, a world war in Japan, abusive parents who did not support her artistic endeavors, galleries that would not show her work, male artists who stole her concepts, and many other failures … to become—at the age of 90—one of the most famous and the highest paid female artist in the world today. I admire and honor her for surviving 90 years amidst these seemingly unsurmountable obstacles. Her work—fantasy-filled and so unique—brings the viewer into a world all her own. She has worked as a painter, performance artist, fashion designer, poet, writer, and in film.”

—Sandra Bruce

The Opulent Injustice of Fannie Lou Hamer by Kimberley Pierce Cartwright

“This quilt is my tribute to civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. She stood up for African-American rights and liberty during the 1960s and ’70s. Her resilience in the movement for equality gave life and a loud voice to disenfranchised women.”

—Kimberley Pierce Cartwright

I Am a Divisive Issue by Jill Kerttula

“At age 27, my daughter found her true self as a transgender woman. While she tries to live a private and normal life, she has to be vigilant of people and of her surroundings. This requires bravery, humor, patience, confidence, compassion, or some combination thereof. She has found some people are supportive and many try to understand, but there are those who will judge her to be divisive, at best, or unacceptable at worst. I am in awe of her ability to negotiate through this barrage of judgement with grace—changing minds as she does.”

—Jill Kerttula

Legacy by Lorie Mccown

“This is the legacy of one man. Growing up in a poor country, fighting for it, and then deciding to uproot himself and his family to a new promised land, he bid his familiar home farewell, got on a boat, and headed off. I am proud of him. I am proud to be his granddaughter. I wish I had known him better. I wish I knew his struggles, his foibles, all of it. A lost generation they called his. World War I was a brutal and devastating war. So many gave so much. He was one of the lucky. He returned home. Then he decided to leave. For more? For promise? Maybe just to start over, where he could be his own kind of man. The promise, the possibility of America. It beckons. It calls. Still.”

—Lorie Mccown

Judy Chicago by Susie Monday

“Judy Chicago’s ‘The Dinner Party,’ executed between 1974 and 1979, upended the art world. With its feminist stance, iconic images, and collaborative nature, it embraced women’s history, conceptual art, and ‘women’s work.’ Completed with hundreds of volunteers, it is now installed at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Chicago has remained steadfast in her commitment to the power of art as a vehicle for social change. As a young artist who wanted to be taken as seriously as my male counterparts, Chicago modeled both that women are and can be artists, and that the dynamic of male dominance of the art world was not just my imagination.”

—Susie Monday

K-9 Search & Rescue by Terri Shinn

“Missing children. Stranded hikers. Buried skiers. When disasters strike, unique teams set out to rescue those in trouble. Who hasn’t been moved by images of a dog and its handler heroically charging headlong into ferocious weather or over severe terrain to help those in desperate need? Even more impressive, these units are all-volunteer organizations. The handlers pay for all expenses, including training, equipment, and veterinarian care, yet they continue to come to the aid of anyone, whenever and wherever needed.”

—Terri Shinn

Brave ‘Enemies’ by Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum

“The First Amendment to our Constitution guarantees us freedom of the press. Journalists work every day to exercise that right and tell the truth. They provide facts—from science to religion, from economy to politics. However, it is increasingly more dangerous to be a journalist. They walk alongside soldiers, embedded in war zones. Reporting truth can put them in grave danger, and 94 journalists were killed doing their jobs in 2018. My quilt represents a bulletin board of clippings and thoughts. Central is a microphone image hanging from a noose. I propose we celebrate journalists and their courage to tell the truth.”

—Enid Gjelten Weichselbaum

Make a Better World, One Quilt at a Time

How do you think that we, as makers, can try to quilt a better world? Perhaps donating quilts or making quilts for charity? Or raising awareness about important issues through your designs? We want to hear how you think quilters can make a difference in the world as well as what quilted works of art have made a difference in your life. Share your thoughts with us on Instagram, Facebook, or in the comments section below.