What is the Legacy Quilt Project, and how did it come to be?
The Legacy Quilt Project can trace its roots back to 2022 when I began quilting with my mother. Working together to create blankets for charity revealed a new, tactile medium where I found fabrics hold stories, emotions, and memories.
In 2023, I joined the Memory Collectors Storytelling Project (MCSP) – Fighting Alzheimer’s with Art, a group of primarily BIPOC senior women in Wisconsin who use the arts and healthy practices to combat the onset of Alzheimer’s—a disease that affected my father and disproportionately impacts people of color. This experience inspired me to launch the Legacy Quilt Project.
Each member of the MCSP is the subject of a small quilt of their own. Meaningful fabrics are integrated into the quilt to form the base for portraits that ultimately reflect the subject’s story. Through this work, I aim to merge representational art with cherished domestic textiles to honor each individual’s memories, history, and aspirations. I am driven by the belief that art can preserve, celebrate, and inspire personal and collective legacies.
Who initially inspired you to grapple with dementia?
My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and I was his sole caretaker for his last 8 years. It was the hardest, most humbling, and most heartbreaking experience to date. Words are not enough to describe the fear, loss, frustration, loneliness, exhaustion, grief, both caregivers and patients experience in the midst of Alzheimer’s disease.
How has working on dementia-related art changed you?
The experience of losing my father to Alzheimer’s disease has deeply impacted me, motivating me to engage in research and initiatives focused on healthy cognition both to help others and to safeguard my own well-being. I understand firsthand the loneliness, isolation, and grief that caregivers endure as well as the profound value of community support and creative expression.
This project is incredibly meaningful to me, and I am committed to facilitating this type of storytelling and fostering collaborative artwork throughout my life. My goal is to seek out collaborative opportunities where all participants can take pride in what we’ve accomplished and find joy in the process.
How has the Legacy Quilt Project been received?
This project is empowering individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease by validating and preserving their life stories. The Legacy Quilts offer participants a means to share and celebrate their experiences, emphasizing their worth and identity while being seen and acknowledged. The quilts have already demonstrated profound impacts: participants are engaged and enthusiastic, contributing materials and narratives and expressing deep pride in the finished pieces.
With the initial 6 quilts displayed at the Overture Center in Madison, WI, and plans for future exhibitions, this project promises ongoing visibility and recognition for participants’ stories. The act of creating these quilts and the finished artwork fulfills the objective of documenting and honoring life stories while supporting cognitive and physical well-being for those in this vulnerable population. This work aspires to be a lifelong commitment, reinforcing the dignity and legacy of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.
This work is dedicated to: Memory Collectors Storytelling Project – Fighting Alzheimer’s with Art
