Returning Artists Textile Collaboration

Last year donors generously contributed $1,300 to equip a quilting studio at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. Unfortunately, planning with ORW broke down (that's just the way it goes with prison bureaucracies sometimes). Fantastically we were able to use the funds to buy supplies and equipment for a collaborative fiber art project with formerly incarcerated artists in the region.

This month I'm launching a collaboration with the Returning Artist Guild. The Returning Artists’ Guild (RAG) is a network of around 30 currently and formerly incarcerated artists in Ohio and across the U.S. The RAG was co-founded by two artists, Aimee Wissman and Kamisha Thomas, who wanted to continue the therapeutic, creative community that they found “inside.” The RAG consists of visual artists, filmmakers, musicians, singers, rappers, comedians, dancers, poets and spoken word performers, activists, researchers, stylists, and entrepreneurs. The Guild has been creating temporary spaces across the state for pop-up exhibitions, workshops/skill sharing, community retreats, and we work with artists and organizational partners who want to provide resources to our community.

With support from dozens of generous individuals, we've been able to buy and collect materials and supplies to equip six RAG members with home textile studios, complete with sewing machines, rotary blades, quilting rulers, cutting mats, fabric, and batting. At the end of February we're gathering together for our first weekend retreat, where we will learn quilting fundamentals and begin dreaming up a collaborative textile project with the Guild.

Although your support has gotten us to this point, we need additional funding to provide travel stipends for guild members traveling from outside of Columbus, buy additional materials to supplement the donated fabrics and supplies, and pay for additional gatherings as the project moves forward.

We're also still accepting donations of working sewing machines, clean, high-quality quilting cotton in one yard or larger pieces, and other sewing and quilting supplies.