25 Million Stitches
The members of the Intentional Stitching group are creating a panel for the 25 Million Stitches project. Please help us stitch this panel by joining the group on Tuesdays at 3:30 or by taking the panel home to work on.
25 MILLION STITCHES – ONE STITCH FOR EACH OF THE WORLD’S 25 MILLION REFUGEES
The world is in flight. 25 million people* across the globe have been forced to flee their homelands as a consequence of genocide, war, poverty, natural disasters, targeted violence, and other grave threats. They leave behind everything they’ve known and possessed in order to live; they face immense struggles, misfortunes, and perils on their journey; and, through it all, survival, much less successful resettlement, remains but the slimmest hope.
Please join this project to hand-stitch 25 million stitches: one stitch for each refugee. How does making 25 million stitches help refugees? We believe that this project is a way for us to engage with this global crisis instead of ignoring it. And even though no single stitch can fully represent an individual, the act of stitching and the resulting work will help bring attention to the scale of the crisis. Two objectives of the project are:
To engage as many people as possible to raise awareness of the global refugee crisis and
To amass 25 million stitches to visually represent the sheer volume of this astronomical figure of refugees.
This is a community art installation. We are asking volunteers to hand stitch on fabric panels. We now have over 1,400 participants from 44 states and many countries overseas. However, another 1,000 panels will be needed to be stitched to add up to 25 million stitches. This huge community art project will come together into a single striking fiber arts display. When the panels are returned to us, we will assemble them in a grand installation of everyone’s personal expression of solidarity and support for the refugees. Once woven together with other lovingly contributed panels, each contribution will be a part of a tapestry of profound community support—but we can’t do it without your participation!
Our first full installation will be at the Verge Center for the Arts, 625 S Street, Sacramento, CA
June 5–August 15, 2020
Opening Reception: Friday, June 5, 5–7pm