Quilted Together
An Exhibition of Community Self-Portraits and Neighborhood Quilts from Around Cape Ann at the Janet & William Ellery James Center, Cape Ann Museum Green.
Cape Ann Museum Green Community Open House
Saturday September 25 began as a quintessential New England day, forecast with rain, when the sky gave way to blue and the perfect setting for the day-long welcoming event at Cape Ann Museum Green (CAM Green) celebrating community and the arts.
With CAM Director Oliver Barker's enthusiastic remarks, games for children, a variety of skits and music – the day produced an overall sentiment of gratitude for both the beauty of the setting and the collaboration of community
In the James Center, “Quilted Together: An Exhibition of Community Portraits” features a series of over 600 self- portraits from local residents, along with a selection of quilts reflecting the community interconnectedness.
The colorful wall of over 600 self-portraits were collected from the community during the past year and symbolize the broad population to be served by the museum’s future programs.
The community quilts represent a tremendous endeavor of Juni Van Dyke’s The Quilt Project. Many contributors, including a community of Cape Ann seniors, provided vignettes of Cape Ann for incorporation into quilts. A total of 15 of these remarkable quilts were eventually created and are now part of the CAM permanent collection. The two quilts shown in these photos represent the regions of Lanesville and Magnolia.
The straw hut on the green is “Heart in the Haystack,” an intriguing installation by Kim Radochia. The artist (right) is chatting with quilt curator Juni Van Dyke.
The minimalist fabric constructions are from Love’s Labors, a poetic installation by Leslie Lyman at the White-Ellery House on the CAM Green campus.
Photos by Paige Farrell.