Artists Registry

The Freedom Quilt Experience - DescriptionWhat started as an anonymous quilt project quickly developed a grander purpose, as visionaries, organizers and quilters exchanged ideas.

Every mind, heart and hand that touched this project was inspired to inspire. We didn't want to matter-of-factly create a quilt ensemble, but we perceived that the opportunity existed to speak profoundly and symbolically about our nation's past, present and future.

We began by processing our feelings concerning 9/11. A concept for the quilt ensemble was designed for cohesiveness, and a statement of inspiration was developed for quilters to keep close to their hearts while creating what we now reference as, The Freedom Quilt Experience.

Understanding the power of words, the visionaries connected a theme to each of the ten panels. The outcome of The Freedom Quilt Experience is a collective, diverse, and beautiful ensemble that altogether mirrors the purpose for which it was created.

Honor • Respect • Human Victory • Strength • UnityHealing • Community • Justice • Tolerance • Courage

Although we will not be here one hundred years from now, The Freedom Quilt Experience along with other visual and literary works will remain. As they are passed from one generation to the next, we believe they will continue to deliver a message that will inspire hope, peace and freedom.

Curator's StatementSeptember 11, 2001 – an historical day, an event so shocking, it brought this entire nation to her knees.

Now, ten years later we are still, and perhaps will always be, on the journey to healing. Our hearts will never forget the lives that were lost on September 11, 2001. We will forever remember the husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, friends, and other loved ones who have lived with the weight of this sudden and horrific loss. Time will not allow us to stand still as it is ever marching forward, and if we allow it, will carry us on our healing journey. As we travel, it is important to pause reflectively ever so often along the way, and commemorate. And so, reflectively and in loving memory, the vision for The Freedom Quilt Experience was conceived.

Quilts have often found themselves in the midst of historical events as a symbol of comfort, a keeper of secrets, a teller of stories and the embodiment of emotions of the artisans who create them. Every shape and element of The Freedom Quilt Experience is reflective of journey. Our vision is that The Freedom Quilt Experience will continually serve as a backdrop that will inspire discussions that lead to solutions surrounding tolerance, acceptance and of course, healing.

The tragedy encompassing 9/11 also revealed a side of us that can only be exposed through the light of extreme difficulties. The strength and resilience of the human spirit is something that can be stretched, it can be bent, but it can never be broken. September 11, 2001 is a reminder that there are still people who are willing to risk their lives to save others. It proved that even with all of our differences, we have the ability to stand together as a nation. Most of all, it demonstrated to me that freedom is a state-of-mind and not a state-of-condition.