Saturday, July 29, 2017

ToR featured on TV news in Lowell, Mass.

Threads of Resistance is getting more media coverage. Here's a segment from a local television news station in Lowell, Mass., where the New England Quilt Museum – the exhibition's first stop – is based. Sue Bleiweiss, one of the members of the Artist Circle Alliance, is featured. 

You can watch the episode on YouTube below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC9h-TAvTCA&feature=youtu.be The ToR segment starts at the 7:30 point.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Opening day!

The opening reception for the Threads of Resistance exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum on Saturday, July 15, 2017 was a huge success! Twelve of the artists were in attendance and the galleries were packed with visitors who came out for the opening. 

Nora Burchfield who is the executive director of the museum opened the reception...




(From left:) Judy Coates Perez, Leslie Tucker Jenison, Sue Bleiweiss



Pam Weeks, the museum’s curator (who you can see in the video above standing to the right of Nora) spoke for a moment and then Artist Circle Alliance members Judy Coates Perez, Leslie Tucker Jenison and I spoke about the exhibit and how it came together.  We kept our statements brief so that people could get to the reason they were there – to look at the fabulous artwork!










And there were a LOT of people who came out for the opening. The galleries were packed!  I had some really wonderful conversations with the visitors and didn’t take nearly as many photos as I was planning to, but I did manage to snap a few here and there. (Some of these photos were taken by Judy Coates Perez.)




  















It was wonderful to see people lingering in front of pieces, taking in the details and talking with the artists who were in attendance.


The museum has done a wonderful job with how they've grouped the pieces and set up the lighting for them.  The pieces are well lit and there are no barriers to stand behind so you can get really close to the artwork to view the details.



The exhibit spans all of the walls of the large classroom area and there are several more pieces in a separate room located off the main room.  

It seems that no matter how many times I look at each piece I always find some new detail that I didn’t notice before. This is definitely an exhibit that you’ll want to take your time with when viewing. There is so much detail and nuance in each piece. 


The exhibit will hang at the New England Quilt Museum through Saturday, September 9, 2017.  Then it will travel to Santa Clara, California where it will hang at the Pacific International Quilt Festival October 12-15, 2017. 






On its last day at the new England Quilt Museum, I (Sue Bleiweiss) will be doing a gallery lecture at 11 a.m. I’ll be talking about the Artist Circle Alliance and how the Threads of Resistance exhibit came to be, as well as the challenges we faced when we announced it and the logistics of putting together a large-scale traveling exhibit.





You can see the complete travel schedule for the exhibit here. To see all the artwork that was submitted to Threads of Resistance click here.

13th venue added to exhibition schedule

A new venue has been added to the Threads of Resistance schedule! The exhibit will on display at the The Charlton Sewing Center in Charlton, Mass, from Oct. 15 to Nov. 4, 2018. 

The Sewing Center, located in a former Methodist Church whose congregation outgrew the space in 2004, has a large display area. Because of its location, it calls itself “New England’s Sewing Sanctuary.” Learn more at the Charlton Sewing Center website here: http://charltonsewingcenter.com/

ToR will now be exhibited in 13 venues in 11 states through November 2018 (a 16-month run!)

Here’s the entire schedule:

Premiere dates: July 11 - September 9, 2017
July 11- September 9, 2017
New England Quilt Museum
18 Shattuck Street, Lowell, MA 01852
Santa Clara, CA

November 9-11, 2017  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Minneapolis, MN  


December 9, 2017 - February 18, 2018
Fuller Craft Museum
Brockton, MA

Reception: Jan. 21 

March 8-10, 2018  

March 15-17, 2018  

Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Lakeland, FL

April 5-7, 2018  

Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Cleveland, OH  

June 4-9, 2018  

Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Arlington, TX

July 18-20, 2018  

Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Raleigh, NC


August 3-24, 2018
Experience Fiber Art

The Wilder Building
Rochester, NY
Oaks, PA

October 4-6, 2018  

Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Fredericksburg, VA


October 15 - November 4, 2018
The Charlton Sewing Center
Charlton, MA

American Craft magazine mentions ToR


“American Craft” magazine included information about the “Threads of Resistance” exhibition in an interview by Betsy Greer with Fuller Craft Museum’s chief curator, Beth McLaughlin, in its August/September issue. 


“Threads of Resistance” will be exhibited at the Fuller at the same time as an exhibit of Pussyhats and related craft called “Revolution in the Making,” a look at the role of craft and art in the protest against the Trump administration’s actions and policies. 
“Threads” runs Dec. 9, 2017 - Feb. 18, 2018, and "Revolution" opens on the anniversary of the Women's March, Jan. 21, 2018.

Monday, July 17, 2017

“Tears For America” by Rebecca Fellows



“Tears For America” by Rebecca Fellows
photo by Ken Sanville

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.


Artist’s Statement:
Guns and gun violence have intruded into our daily lives. Nowhere is safe. Mass shootings, violence against women and “accidental” deaths of children by unsecured guns is rampant. Gun rights enthusiasts want guns everywhere – schools, churches, parks, theaters. And gun rights politicians refuse to let the CDC study gun violence as a major health problem. My question is “WHY?” Why do we need guns everywhere? Why guns in schools? Why guns at the grocery, in the workplace, at the movies, on playgrounds? Why?

Hear a message from Rebecca about her piece below:

“100 Days” by Jamie Fingal


“100 Days” by Jamie Fingal


This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:
100 days of pure outrage every day. Something different and outrageous with fake news, alternative facts and issues that shook the core of my being. I got up and got involved in the fight. These words have stuck with me, the things that mean the most. I shake my head every day at the bait and switch and the tearing apart of our country. Call your representatives and let your voice be heard.

Hear a message from Jamie about her piece below:

Thursday, July 13, 2017

“Not So Safe” by Amy Dame

“Not So Safe” by Amy Dame

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:
After the Nov. 8, 2016, election of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, a trend emerged on social media. Wearing a safety pin was celebrated as an easy way to show support for those negatively affected by his win, and the idea spread rapidly.

Those in favour of the concept claimed that a simple safety pin attached to one’s coat would show that person to be a “safe space” for people who were being further marginalized by Trump and his followers. As the idea grew, even people who voted for Donald Trump celebrated it as a way to show the world that the wearer was “still a good person,” despite voting to limit or deny the basic human rights of others.

People who were actually affected by Trump’s racism, misogyny, homophobia, Islamophobia, ableism and more were less enthusiastic. While certainly some People of Colour (POC), immigrants, LGBTQ, or Muslim people appreciated the thought, many more questioned why a true ally would need a visible symbol of their support for human rights. Wouldn’t they be visible as an ally because of their actions? Wouldn’t marginalized people learn that they were trustworthy because the person has been taking actions and speaking out against oppression as they witness it?

Oppressed people know all too well the history of well-meaning allies who claim to support them, while simultaneously keeping quiet, refusing to take actions that might endanger their privilege, or outright causing harm to the people that they purport to protect.


While many of the people who wear safety pins may have the best of intentions, marginalized people have no way of knowing which of those safety pins will pop open and harm them, which means that the safety pin movement really doesn’t symbolize anything other than the guilt of privileged people looking for forgiveness from those who are oppressed.

Hear a message from Amy about her piece below:

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Schedule correction

Someone recently brought to our attention that we had an error in the schedule! The June 4-9, 2018 exhibit at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo is in Arlington, Texas; not Arlington, Virginia. We regret the error, and hope that Virginia viewers will get a chance to see the exhibition when it comes to Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

Premiere dates: July 11 - September 9, 2017
New England Quilt Museum
18 Shattuck Street, Lowell, MA 01852
    Opening reception: July 15, 2017 at 11 a.m. 
Santa Clara, CA

November 9-11, 2017  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Minneapolis, MN  


December 9, 2017 - February 18, 2018
Fuller Craft Museum
Brockton, MA

Reception: Jan. 21 

March 8-10, 2018  

March 15-17, 2018  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Lakeland, FL

April 5-7, 2018  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Cleveland, OH  

June 4-9, 2018  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Arlington, TX

July 18-20, 2018  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Raleigh, NC


August 3-24, 2018
Experience Fiber Art

The Wilder Building
Rochester, NY
Oaks, PA

October 4-6, 2018  
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo
Fredericksburg, VA

“Equality” by Kerri Green


“Equality” by Kerri Green

This is one in a series of posts featuring an artist whose work is included in the Threads of Resistance exhibition.

Artist’s Statement:
I chose the word EQUALITY, blazoned in the colors of the rainbow flag representing LBGTQ rights, to be a positive symbol of virtue and hope for our politically divided society. The original flag, designed by artist Gilbert Baker included eight colors. Pink represented sexuality; red was life; orange was healing; yellow was sunlight; green was nature; turquoise was art; indigo was harmony; and violet was the human spirit.

Hear a message from Kerri about her piece below: