A Quilt is a Poem That We Say Again
@ Harold Washington Library Center
400 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605
Opening Monday, November 16th, from 5:30PM - 7:30PM
On view through Monday, January 11th
A new exhibition displaying quilts as textile art and highlighting a burgeoning cohort of queer artmakers opens at Harold Washington Library Center on October 25, 2026. A Quilt Is a Poem That We Say Again: queer quilting Chicago features over 30 pieces made by local artists.
Curator’s statement:
queer quilting is a workshop series and a growing community collective. Organized by teaching artist Eliza Fernand, and generated by the few hundred quilt-curious queers who have attended workshops over the past four years, it is a ritual and a point of entry into creative practice, release and connection. The quilts in this exhibition demonstrate the range of techniques and ideas that each quilter brings to the conversation. Improvising, following patterns, incorporating text and politics and pleasure and play; attempting a composition that, bound in stitches, becomes a measure of achievement. Repetition and rhyme, and maybe reason or maybe not, are the ingredients we cast our spells with as we make our quilts into something we can stand behind, something we can rest on in repose.
A Quilt Is a Poem That We Say Again: queer quilting Chicago opens at Harold Washington Library Center on October 25, 2026 and will be on view through January 11, 2027 in the Ida B. Wells Corridor.
Panel Discussion
Join four artists from the exhibition to talk about process and decision making in quilting practices. Alejandro McGhee, Amy Basque, Claire Prucher and Laura Mariela Aranda all approach the craft in different ways, and their processes have been shaped by the community input at queer quilting workshops. We will look at in-progress documentation of the quilts in the show and hear about the series of small decisions they made to get to the finished artwork. Moderated by curator and teacher Eliza Fernand with an audience Q&A.
Accessibility
Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.
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Tags: A Quilt is a Poem That We Say Again, Alejandro McGhee, Amy Basque, Chicago, Claire Prucher, Eliza Fernand, Harold Washington Library, Laura Mariela Aranda, Loop
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