Thursday, October 15
4pm PST
Virtual Event
UCR ARTS is pleased to present the Social Justice Sewing Academy exhibition of community quilts this fall and to bring SJSA workshops to high schools in Riverside County. Tune in on October 15 to hear Sara Trail, founder and executive director of Social Justice Sewing Academy and Sheila Bergman, executive director of UCR ARTS, to learn about Trail’s love for sewing and passion for social justice, her path to Social Justice Sewing Academy, and the future of the organization.
About the Social Justice Sewing Academy exhibition:
Founded in 2017, the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) is a youth education program that bridges artistic expression with activism to advocate for social justice. Through a series of hands-on workshops in schools, prisons and community centers across the country, SJSA empowers youth to use textile art as a vehicle for personal transformation and community cohesion and become agents of social change. Many of SJSA’s young artists make art that explores issues such as gender discrimination, mass incarceration, gun violence and gentrification. The powerful imagery they create in cloth tells their stories, and these quilt blocks are then sent to volunteers around the world to embellish and embroider before being sewn together into quilts to be displayed in museums, galleries and quilt shows across the country. This visual dialogue bridges differences in race, age and socioeconomics and sparks conversations and action in households across the country.
UCR ARTS presents a selection of quilts made by some of the talented individuals that have participated in SJSA’s workshops. The issues they portray are as relevant as ever. Learn more about Social Justice Sewing Academy at sjsacademy.com.
Header image: Kailah Foreman, Justice Denied, 2018. Courtesy of the artist/ SJSA.
View the recording of the event:
Third Thursday Talks are made possible with the generous support from the Marjorie and Glenn Thomas Memorial Fund.
It’s because of supporters and friends like YOU that we are able to make Third Thursday Talks and all of our virtual programs possible.
Please consider making a donation to UCR ARTS today. And, when you do, Thank You.
