October 2022
The 2022 mid-term election is just over a week away as I write this, and I have never felt the level of anxiety over any election, let alone a mid-term, that I am feeling as this one approaches, and I know I am not alone. I will be a poll worker on November 8th so the day will pass quickly, and I will not be subjected to endless media speculation and exit polls. I voted early. I have written postcards to voters, donated to campaigns I support, and encouraged friends and family to vote.
So, I thought this would be a good time to update you on one of the Incredible Humans I wrote about in the book, Phoenix textile artist Ann Morton, founder of the Violet Protest. This project was a “call for national unity.” An important message in our current political climate.
Morton sent out a request in 2020 for participants to take part in this “physical message of friendly protest” to Congress. Two years later, the result was 2,000 makers throughout the US and Canada completing 13,500 crafted 8”x 8” squares made up of equal parts red and blue – hence the violet, representing unity. The intention was to focus “on the values we hold dear as Americans, rather than any political beliefs,” while sending the message to members of the Senate and the House of Representatives that we expect them to work together to accomplish the work of and for the people who elected them.
Morton partnered with The Phoenix Art Museum, receiving a Scult Artist Award to help fund the project. The museum presented a stunning display from March through September, 2021 which you can view on the Violet Protest website or read about on pages 101-103 in A Call to Needles. I recommend taking a look at some of the beautifully made, cleverly designed squares, created using a variety of fibers, fabrics, and techniques. It always gives me pause at how many ways people can find to speak through textiles.
I was a proud participant, making five squares. And because Morton and her team of volunteers kept meticulous records, rightfully treating each square like a piece of art, I knew where my squares were located in the exhibition and who received them when they were lovingly and carefully packed up and sent to Washington DC in the fall of 2021.
My squares (knitted, embroidered, and quilted):
I was the proudest of the way the maze turned out:
The recipients of my squares (one to each person – a mixed group, for sure!):
- Representative Frank Lucas of Oklahoma
- Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado
- Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio
- Representative Yvette Clark of New York
- Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey
The best news and the update I want to share is that a documentary is being made about the Violet Protest. This is a collaboration between AZPBS and Arizona State University with the rationale that “sharing the story of the Violet Protest offers the public, as well as teachers and students an educational opportunity to see, in action, ideas of public engagement, civil discourse, American history – and experience an example of how critical thinking can be applied in myriad ways to address areas of public concern.” The plan includes the development of educational materials that will be available to K-12 families and educators through Arizona PBS Learning Media.
You can watch the documentary trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ngcMvdkX8
It will be presented and distributed through AZPBS and will cover a bit of the history of how textiles have been used in America “for home stability, altruism, and symbolism.” The documentary will introduce you to Ann Morton and some of the makers around the country who contributed squares to the project. Viewers will also see the impressive organization of volunteers that documented, sorted and packed 540 boxes for delivery to Washington D.C.
Individual donations have always helped sustain the Violet Protest. Grants help but can’t do it all. Imagine, for example, the cost of sending 540 boxes to the nation’s capital from Arizona. And there are costs associated with creating the documentary that will not be fully covered by grants. If you would like to make a donation you can use this link to make a tax-deductible contribution:
Sources & Links
www.facebook.com/thevioletprotest
@thevioletprotest
Arizona PBS – https://azpbs.org/
Arizona PBS Learning Media – https://azpbs.org/education/arizona-pbs-learningmedia-and-pbs-kids/
Phoenix Art Museum – https://phxart.org/