Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The MIT Quilt Show , put on as a collaboration between the Crafters' Circle, MIT Makerspaces, and the MIT Women's League, and funded by the Council for the Arts at MIT, ran for three days in Lobby 13 Oct. 5-7 and drew 950 visitors.
"We got wonderful feedback throughout the show, and it was tremendously gratifying to see the MIT community turn out en masse to support this art form," says Jane Halpern, show organizer and communications officer for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
"Slop," a quilt by Remi Harrison '24, is a timely work referencing "AI slop," or low-quality content created by generative artificial intelligence systems. Made out of discarded fast fashion (the highly disposable "slop" of the garment industry), the piece features a repurposed swimsuit that was itself printed with an AI "newsprint" pattern littered with non-words.
Photo courtesy of the MIT Quilt Show
Individuals from the MIT astrophysics community collaborated on an astronomy-related quilt (foreground) assembled by graduate student Swati Ravi.
"Roman Empire" by Jane Halpern juxtaposes two famous paparazzi photos featuring Taylor Swift and Nicole Kidman at equal, yet opposite, moments in their lives.
The show included not only traditional quilts, but other works of art that used quilting techniques - such as Naomh Fairweather's patchwork dress, made for contra dancing, and Anh Vu Sawyer's collaborative American flag, decorated with embroidered artworks made by refugees.
Organizer Jane Halpern contributed multiple quilts to the show. At left, "Jean Reese's Ripple Effect" pays homage to a childhood neighbor who was a master quilter. At right, "Beasley Hollow" is a colorful gift to welcome a new baby.
The MIT Dome made an abstract appearance on a quilted pillow by Lee Zamir; the pillow now lives in the office of MIT President Sally Kornbluth.
The exhibit featured around 40 quilts and quilt-adjacent works from about 20 members of the MIT community, plus collaborative works such as an astrophysics community quilt, assembled by graduate student Swati Ravi, and an American flag featuring the embroidery work of refugees, assembled by Anh Vu Sawyer MBA '20 and her husband Philip.
While the quilt show was a one-time event, Halpern encourages MIT community members who are interested in adding more quilts to their lives to join the Crafters' Circle Slack channel; check for class listings in the Makerspaces ; and visit the New England Quilt Museum in nearby Lowell, Massachusetts.
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