Birmingham Public Library Hosting Bib & Tucker Sew-Op The March Quilts: A Celebration of Arts & Activism May 6 - July 8
What: Bib & Tucker Sew-Op Presents The March Quilts: A Celebration of Arts and Activism
When: Opening Reception May 6, 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.; Closing Reception July 8, 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.
Where: The Central Library 1st Floor Grand Commons, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
Birmingham, Ala. - Bib & Tucker Sew-Op and The March Quilts Project announced that the entire collection, including two new quilts from TMQ8: A(MEND), will be on display at the Birmingham Public Library downtown for two months, beginning Saturday, May 6.
An opening reception will be held for the public from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on May 6 at the Central Library, 2100 Park Place. The display will be open for the public to view during library operating hours until the closing reception, slated for 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 8.
The March Quilts is an annual community art project that sheds light on a theme of civil or human rights through open sewing sessions during which participants can express their feelings about the topic through hand sewing, said Lillis Taylor, chief financial officer of Bib & Tucker Sew-Op, a nonprofit that has held several programs over the years at BPL including quilting sessions at Avondale Regional Library.
Sew-Op members co-facilitate these sewing sessions with hosting partners and then sew the resulting blocks into quilts that then join the March Quilts collection.
The project began in 2014 when Sew-Op co-founders Ms. Annie Bryant and Lillis Taylor wanted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery Marches through quilt making.
"Since Bib & Tucker Sew-Op started 13 years ago as two friends meeting once a week at a local library branch to swap sewing skills and stories, we are thrilled to see all 15 quilts from The March Quilts collection on display at the Birmingham Public Library," Lillis Taylor of Bib & Tucker Sew-Op said.
As of today, 15 quilts have been created from over 1,400 quilt squares, made by participants of open sewing sessions. In 2023, the March Quilts collection will celebrate its ninth year. To learn more about this program, click here.
For more information on this and other BPL programs and services, visit our library website.
About the March Quilts:
In 2015, Bib & Tucker Sew-Op partnered with UAB's Department of Art & Art History and the Birmingham Museum of Art to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. After opening sewing sessions yielded 461 quilt blocks, Sew-Op members stitched the blocks together to make three quilts that were installed in the Selma Public Library and the Alabama Department of Archives during the anniversary.
Due to overwhelmingly positive response, collaborators made The March Quilts an annual project. Each year, Bib & Tucker members choose a civil or human rights theme and facilitate open sewing sessions and discussion. During these sessions, participants create quilt blocks that express personal feelings about the theme.
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