Riverside's Community Quarantine Quilt | April 23 - May 7, 2022

Riverside Arts Center Community Quarantine Quilt | March 2020 - March 2021

The Riverside Arts Center is thrilled to report that our Community Quarantine Quilt is headed to the Field Museum's permanent collections!

The quilt will become a part of the new Pandemic Collection, housed in the Field Museum’s Anthropology Collection.

According to the Field Museum, The Pandemic Collection is "a new collection of artifacts and materials that reflect cultural responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the economic devastation, and the simultaneous related activism for social justice. The collection will capture the diverse ways in which people have invested meaning and taken action in this time of rapid social change. In doing so, the Museum will create a dynamic collections resource for current and future generations."

An exhibition is also planned.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, we are giving the Quilt a farewell local exhibition in the FlexSpace at Riverside Arts Center, 32 East Quincy Street, now through May 7th. Gallery hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday 1:00-5:00PM

Created by community members and sponsored by Riverside Arts Center (RAC), this beautiful community quilt, offers an uplifting perspective on the Coronavirus Pandemic. The quilt draws together experiences from the RAC community during 2020’s stay-home period.

The project was spearheaded by Riversider Bridget Juister. Joined by RAC School Manager Shawn Vincent, packets of fabrics were distributed and the project was completely free for the community and offered a creative reprieve during a difficult time. Juister completed the quilt using a golden thread woven between the squares, serving as a symbolic link between diverse communities and individuals within them. The quilt commemorates the belief that when basic human needs are met, peace and joy lie at the core for every human experience.

Riverside Arts Center (RAC) is proud to support this beautiful volunteer effort, an antidote of togetherness during what was otherwise a time of isolation and anxiety. These artists created gentle expressions of optimism and patience, assertions of solidarity and hope, and a bit of fun. Individually and as a whole these creations are inspiring to witness.