“Fill 1,000 Seats” by Julie Weinstein and Fran Sharp

“Fill 1,000 Seats”
by Julie Weinstein and Fran Sharp

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

Artist’s Statement:

Shortly after the presidential election in 2016, we read that Democrats lost more than 1,000 legislative seats between 2008 and 2016: 11 governorships, 13 senate seats, 69 house seats, and 913 state legislative seats. We’ve since learned that those numbers are slightly exaggerated and that every president’s party loses seats during the term. But we were shocked at the numbers and the implications of these losses. We also realized that getting Democrats elected at all levels would be a positive focus for our anger, fear and disgust at the new administration. Not instead of demonstrations, letters, petitions and phone calls, but in addition to those actions. 

This quilt focuses on the idea that we need to fill 1,000 legislative seats with progressive Democrats at every level of government to restore decency and sanity to the nation. There may not be exactly 1,000 chairs on the quilt, but we came close to that number in the custom-designed and printed wallpaper fabric. Our ideas and hopes about the current political and electoral situation make up the words on the custom-designed and printed floor fabric. 

Please vote, participate, and work to fill legislative seats. It will take all of us to get this done. It will take time, but we can do it.

Hear a message from Fran about her piece below: