Stitch By Stitch- Women Helping Women

I am the only Oregonian to participate in this collaborative project. The goal of this project was to bring new attention and public interest to the art work of women, the current climate of life in Afghanistan and the traditional crafts of Afghan women. Both Rubia and the Women’s Caucus for Art share similar missions and allowed for a great collaboration between artists and craftswomen internationally. In addition, this will be the only opportunity for people to view the quilt on the West Coast.

The WCA-Philadelphia has partnered with Rubia to organize the collaborative project, entitled: “Women Helping Women: Stitch by Stitch.” The project involved the creation of a quilt, which showcases the work of women from Darrai Noor, Afghanistan and over 25 American women artists from the Women’s Caucus for Art and Rubia. Participants include artists from the Philadelphia area and from New Hampshire, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, Missouri, Montana, California, Louisiana, and Washington, DC.We hope that the quilt will ultimately be exhibited in Darrai Noor, Afghanistan.The goal of this project was to bring new attention and public interest to the art work of women, the current climate of life in Afghanistan and the traditional crafts of Afghan women. Both Rubia and the Women’s Caucus for Art share similar missions and allowed for a great collaboration between artists and craftswomen internationally.

The United States artists observed the embroidered motifs found in Rubia’s handwork, which include the poppy, the peacock, and the swirling sun as found on the Rubia Website

Molly Crowley, Rubia Project Associate who organized the exhibition, says “Bringing women together across the globe through their handwork is a time honored tradition of women’s domestic lives. Taking that work into the public sphere through artistic collaboration, and raising awareness of the persistent problems in Afghanistan and how we can help is an essential objective of Rubia’s mission. The enthusiasm continues to build around this exhibition, and we expect it to be seen by thousands of patrons across America during its traveling tour.”

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Current Tour:

Women Helping Women: Stitch by Stitch

June 1st - June 30^th, 2008

Grace Episcopal Church-Merchantville Art & Faith Space

www.gracechurchmerchantville.com

7 E Maple Ave, Merchantville, NJ 08109

Also showing Selected Photographs from Afghanistan

August 1 - August 26^th, 2008

Exhibited with WCA- Florida member Betsy Bohrer

Arts on the Park Members Gallery, Upstairs Gallery,

Lakeland, Florida

September 1 - September 30^th, 2008

Pamplin Gallery at: Bartow Public Library

2150 South Broadway Ave., Bartow, Florida

November 2008

Portland City Hall

Portland Oregon WCA member, Jo Grishman

Portland Oregon

March 2009

St. Louis MO

September 2009

WCA/DC and WCA-Philadelphia Exhibition

Edison Gallery

Washington, DC

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http://www.marycrowley.com/rubia/

WCA-Philadelphia Chapter

http://home.earthlink.net/~philawcamembers/index.html

WCA-Philadelphia Blog

http://phila-wca.blogspot.com/

WCA/DC

http://www.wcadc.org/

Jo Grishman

http://jogrishman105.googlepages.com/home

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Press Listings:

Art Cast DC Radio Show--Listen to the Podcast: (http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=55745)

Art Daily (www.artdaily.org)

Afghanistan News Center (www.afghanistannewscenter.com)

KBOO Radio, Portland Oregon http://kboo.fm/node/10050