LOCATION: Slovenia, Škofja Loka, Zavod Tri / Tri Institute and Škofja Loka Museum
FOCUS: migration, displacement, women
SIZE: 16
PRIVATE/PUBLIC: After the exhibition in 2022 the textile pictures are now private
DESCRIPTION: The exhibition featured the personal stories of the participants in the workshops prepared by Zavod Tri, a Škofja Loka-based non-governmental organisation focused on sustainable community practices. The stories were originally written in three languages – Slovenian, English and the participants’ mother tongues – and depicted on embroidered canvases. The exhibitors based their work on personal photographs that presented their respective day-to-day lives, families and ways of life, or a particular moment from the time when they moved to a new environment. They impressed and transferred black-and-white copies of the photographs onto the canvas with glue, and then highlighted certain details and outlines with coloured threads.  

The women who have moved to Škofja Loka and those who have lived here for a long time have been meeting since 2018. Every September, they open their door with a language course, which then evolves into expression through textile arts. The exhibition featured women from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia, Kosovo, the USA and Ukraine. As part of the programme, which took place in 2021 and 2022, the participants visited the Škofja Loka Museum, learned about the history of the Škofja Loka area and about the work involved in preparing and staging exhibitions at the museum. No matter where people come from, they become part of the community, they have their own attitude towards the local environment. This is not only the place where they live, but also where they express themselves and create.  And this is what the museum aimed to present and introduce to visitors.
 
Na razstavi so predstavljene osebne zgodbe udeleženk delavnic, ki jih pripravlja Zavod Tri, nevladna organizacija za trajnostne skupnostne prakse, ki deluje v Škofji Loki. Zgodbe so bile prvotno napisane v treh jezikih – v slovenskem, angleškem in njihovem maternem jeziku – ter upodobljene na izvezenih platnih. Avtorice so izhajale iz osebnih fotografij, ki predstavljajo njihov vsakdan, družino in način življenja ali pa izbran trenutek iz časa, ko so se preselile v novo okolje. Črno-bele kopije fotografij so nato z lepilom odtisnile in prenesle na platna ter z barvnimi nitmi poudarile določene podrobnosti in obrise.
Ženske, ki so se v Škofjo Loko priselile, in tiste, ki tu živijo že dlje časa, se srečujejo od leta 2018. Vsak september odprejo vrata z jezikovnim tečajem, ki se nato razvija v izražanje s tekstilno umetnostjo. Na razstavi sodelujejo ženske, ki prihajajo iz Srbije, Bosne in Hercegovine, Severne Makedonije, s Kosova, iz Združenih držav Amerike in Ukrajine. V programu, ki je potekal v letih 2021 in 2022, so udeleženke obiskale tudi Loški muzej ter se seznanile z zgodovino škofjeloškega območja, pa tudi z načinom pripravljanja in postavljanja razstav v muzeju. Ne glede na to, od kod prihajajo, postajajo ljudje del skupnosti in imajo odnos do lokalnega okolja; tu ne le živijo, ampak se tudi izražajo in ustvarjajo. To je muzej tokrat pomagal predstaviti ter približati obiskovalcem in obiskovalkam.
CONTACT: Anka Pintar ([email protected]) and Nina Arnuš ([email protected])
OTHER INFORMATION: 
About the exhibition in Škofja Loka Museum: https://www.loski-muzej.si/zavod-tri-izvezene-zgodbe/
About our organisation: https://zavod-tri.org/
About the project Embroidered Stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6HExQPSgQ

LOCATION: Dayton Art Institute; American Folk Art Museum; Smithsonian American Art Museum; private collections
FOCUS: Wide range of topics, including injustice toward animals and personal experiences/stories
SIZE: Varies by site.
PRIVATE/PUBLIC: Public, though check ahead to see if they are on view.
DESCRIPTION: Though her work is not in a singular collection, her works can be seen on various museum websites. Her later work is visually arresting, where she uses stark, contrasting colors, some with figures in protective or precarious postures. Mary is quoted in the catalogue of the exhibit Six Naives: Ashby, Borkowski, Fassanella, Nathaniel, Palladino, in the Tolson exhibition catalog, 1973, Akron Art Museum Archives: "The might look like dream pictures, but nobody could dream enough for seventy pictures. It is true many are based on the way I feel about certain events or people or attitudes and in that extent are "fantasy" but I didn't dream up the basic emotions."
CONTACT: Pending; can view her work at the museum links listed above. 
OTHER INFORMATION: Mary Borkowski died in 2008 at the age of 91. According to her obituary, "She was born March 28, 1916 in Sulphur Lick Springs, OH, the daughter of Joseph & Rena (Hennes) Porter. Mary was a legendary American Folk Artist whose work is displayed at the Smithsonian and other prestigious museums across the country. She had a great love for all animals."

LOCATION: Housed and exhibited by Susanne Miller Jones through 2020, Virginia
FOCUS: Celebrating the groundbreaking accomplishments of women since 1920, the year we got the right to vote in the USA.
SIZE: 107 quilts, 24" x 30"
PRIVATE/PUBLIC: Public (when exhibited)
DESCRIPTION: This exhibit, by 84 artists from seven countries, includes tributes to renowned women, as well as those who worked behind the scenes. These quilts celebrate strong women who cracked glass ceilings and those who made discoveries. Women who shook the world by breaking into fields previously reserved for men are commemorated, as are those who were the first to do something before any man. These art quilts honor athletes, authors, artists, aviators and astronauts, business leaders, educators, entertainers, mathematicians, scientists, writers, and world leaders.
CONTACT: Susanne Miller Jones, [email protected]
OTHER INFO: Website: www.susannemjones.com; Gallery: www.herstoryonline.gallery; Book: HERstory Quilts: A Celebration of Strong Women published by Schiffer Publishing. Available: https://tinyurl.com/herstoryquilts

LOCATION: Golden, Colorado, USA
PRIVATE/PUBLIC: Private
SIZE: 300 +
FOCUS: Human rights issues relating to the border wall the current administration wants to build.
CONTACT: Lea McComas, website
DESCRIPTION: Cultural, environmental, political and economic issues related to the US/Mexico border wall and US immigration policy are explored by creating fabric "bricks." Quilters and artists from around the world have participated, expressing a wide variety of opinions, thoughts, and ideas in an 8 x 16 inch format. The 'bricks' are connected, creating five panels, front and back. This collection travels, and is currently accepting textile 'bricks.' See the website for details.

Location: Brooklyn, NY and online here.
Focus: Personal stories related to human rights and GBV
Size: 40+ and growing
Private/Public: Private
Description: Collection of story cloths done within a trauma therapy context. Cloth artists have given permission for the public to view their stories, and they advocate for bringing issues such as the use of sexual violence in conflict, sex trafficking, other forms of violence against women and families, issues of displacement, and experiences of war into public knowledge in order to stop and prevent violence against women. Common Threads Project trains local mental health professionals in using story cloth making, along with psychoeducation, art therapy, and body/mind work to treat groups of survivors.
Contact: Dr. Rachel Cohen; [email protected] or [email protected]

Location: Northern Ireland and virtual http://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/
Focus: Conflict, human rights abuses and making visible the struggle for the disappeared
Size: 168 events and 361 textiles, comprised of arpilleras, quilts and wall hangings, with arpilleras forming the majority of the collection. (These figures are valid as of January 16th 2019.  As this is a live, growing database, these figures are set to increase)
Private/Public: The material collection of textiles is private. The electronic database collection is public.
Description: Conflict Textiles is home to a large collection of international textiles, exhibitions and associated events, all of which focus on elements of conflict, human rights abuses and making visible the struggle for the disappeared.
    The collection is mainly comprised of arpilleras, quilts and wall hangings. Arpilleras (pronounced "ar-pee-air-ahs") are three-dimensional appliquéd tapestries of Latin America that originated in Chile. These became the medium for women, generally working collectively, to denounce the human rights abuses and repression of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile.
    The arpillera making process subsequently spread to other Latin American countries and beyond. Over the last 10 years, it has expanded to women‘s groups in Spain, the UK, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Zimbabwe, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
   Since 2008, exhibitions have been hosted in museums, universities, art galleries, embassies and community spaces worldwide. A number of associated activities generally form part of the exhibition programme, such as film screenings, workshops, and roundtable discussions. These have proved highly successful in enabling people to have a more ‘hands-on’ experience and to move from the position of viewer and observer to actively engaging in the process.
   Conflict Textiles is an ‘Associated Site’ of and maintained by CAIN (Conflict Archive on the INternet) at Ulster University, Northern Ireland. It was first set up in 2008 and redeveloped as a more interactive website with more sophisticated searching facilities in 2015. If you click on the gallery images, you will be taken to the arpillera page on the ConflictTextiles database, and can read more about the storycloth there. 
​Contact: http://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/

Location: Virtual--WCQN and The Quilt Index 
Focus: Wide range of topics including healthcare, politics, racism, history
Size: 30 + (WCQN); 195 (QI)
Private/Public: Public
Description: Quilts from the WCQN, a non-profit organization founded by Carolyn L. Mazloomi to document and promote quilts by African American quilters. Collections of story quilts can be seen online as part of Michigan State University's Quilt Index, and on the WCQN's website. Exhibits of WCQN members' work travels nationally and internationally; catalogues of exhibitions have been published and are available through various book sellers. 
Contact: Carolyn L. Mazloomi, Director: [email protected]

Location: Online (virtual)
Focus: Human Rights
Size: 153 
Private/Public: Public
Description: Wide variety of styles and topics relating to human rights. Collection was initially gathered from the MSU Museum's collection, plus additional pieces, for a gallery exhibition. Pieces can be viewed online, and in Quilts and Human Rights, by Macdowell, Worrall, Swanson and Donaldson. 
Contact: The Quilt Index

Location: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Focus: Women
Size: 39 individual pieces, combined into one
Private/Public: Public
Description: Triangular "dinner table" set on white tiles with gold names of important women. Each side has 13 place settings with runners that relate to and illustrate specific women in history. The "placemats" are story cloths that narrate details about the life and times of the highlighted women.
​Contact: 718.638.5000; [email protected]
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Location: Burlington, Iowa, USA
Focus: The story cloth collection is categorized into the following themes:
The Hmong People's Journey
Traditional Life in Laos
Hmong New Year
Neighboring Ethnic People
Size: 53 
Private/Public: Currently a private collection but would like to loan for museum and community exhibits supplemented by public speaking engagements. 
Description: Forty-four of these story cloths are displayed in "Hmong Story Cloths: Preserving Historical & Cultural Treasures" by Linda A. Gerdner (see Resources). Since this book was published, Linda has added two rare story cloths. This collection began in 2002 during a visit to Laos and Thailand that included visiting Hmong families in their village homes in rural Laos and also visiting the last remaining refugee settlement at Wat Thamkrabok in Thailand. The earliest piece in the collection dates back to 1977 and was made at Ban Vinai Refugee Camp in Thailand. The most recent story cloth came from an elder Hmong woman who arrived in the United States in 2005 with the last wave of refugees from Wat Thamkrabok. These textile arts were collected with a discerning eye for quality and diversity of content. Story cloths were collected 1) directly or indirectly from Hmong Refugees living in refugee camps in Thailand or 2) directly from Hmong refugees following their arrival in the United States.
Contact: Linda A. Gerdner at [email protected] or 319-572-4131
​Other info: Am very interesting in loaning my collection to interested museums or community organizations throughout the country. This could include supplemental presentations to the public. I am also available for slide presentations of this exquisite artwork. 

Location: Fishguard, Wales, UK
Focus: Sovereignty
Size: One thirty foot cloth
Private/Public: Public
Description: Contemporary community created embroidered story of fighting off a French invasion of Britain in 1797. Story is in vibrant images with an embroidered narrative in both English and Welsh.
Contact: Fishguard Library, First Floor, Town Hall, Market Square, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, SA65 9HA Phone: 01437 776638

Location: Baltimore, MD, USA
Focus: Human Rights, Historial and Systemic Racism
Size: 7 +
Private/Public: Private
Description: These pieces examine "the origin myths, legends, and religious beliefs that shape conflicting conceptions of American History." (quote from brochure from exhibit at Baltimore Museum of Art)
Contact: [email protected]

Location: Museo Violeta Parra, Santiago, Chile
Focus: Anti-war
Size: 9 +
Private/Public: Public
Description: Though mostly known as a singer, Violeta Parra was also a painter and textile artist. Her arpillera tapestries are large and bold, and tell universal and personal stories. Her songs inspired a diverse group of women to create their own arpilleras as homage to Parra, and exhibited them in 2017 at the Archivo Nacional de Chile. See more about that exhibit here. 
Contact: Vicuña Mackenna 37, Santiago, Chile. Fono: (56 2) 2 355 46 00 

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Location: Traveling exhibit and online. See www.artandremembrance for current location of exhibit and online Gallery.
Focus: Holocaust, human rights, social justice, family
Size: 36
Private/Public: Public
Description: Later in her life, Holocaust survivor Esther Nisenthal Krinitz created a series of fabric collage and embroidered panels, each with stitched narrative captions, depicting her life in pre-war Poland, her survival as a teenager during the war, and her arrival in the U.S. after the war.
Contact: Bernice Steinhardt, [email protected]
​Other Info: To honor their mother’s legacy and to share it widely, Esther’s daughters, Bernice Steinhardt and Helene McQuade, created Art and Remembrance, a non-profit organization that has created a traveling exhibit, an award-winning film, Through the Eye of the Needle, and a book, Memories of Survival. (The film can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCvlhYCKruQ.) A&R also uses Esther’s work to inspire immigrants, at-risk youth and other students to share their own stories in story cloths. 

Do You Know Me? by Peggie Hartwell

Location: South Carolina, USA
Focus: Human rights, social justice, family
Size: 5 + and more in progress
Private/Public: Private
Description: This is a collection of Peggie Hartwell's story quilts. She is a visual storyteller, telling stories in cloth about social justice topics, important African American historical figures, family; she also creates memorial quilts. Her pieces vary in size, technique, and imagery. She facilitates story quilt workshops for children with special needs and immigrants, and exhibits widely; examples of her work have been published and are on her website. 
Contact: [email protected]

Location: Takoma Park, MD, USA
Focus: Combination of self-made story cloths and vintage arpilleras relating to human rights 
Size: 20 
Private/Public: Private; available for exhibit
Description: Self-made storycloths relating specifically to immigration, environmental degradation, and oppression; vintage arpilleras focused on protest and political unrest, anonymous and undated.
Contact: Lisa Raye Garlock, [email protected]

Location: Phansi Museum, Glenwood, Durban, South Africa, and online
Focus: Women's issues and experiences 
Size: Almost 3,000 
Private/Public: Public
Description: Collection of story/memory cloths by women, inspired by the work done around Truth and Reconciliation after apartheid. This is the first Women's Museum--Living Archive in South Africa, Kwazulu Natal. 
Contact: Voices of Women--Amazwi Abesifazane

LOCATION: George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program, Alexandria, VA (Washington, DC)
FOCUS: Human rights
SIZE: 20 + 
PRIVATE/PUBLIC: Private/Public on this platform
DESCRIPTION: Story cloths made in an elective course with the focus on using narrative textiles in art therapy and community building. Some are metaphorical, others are narrative. All tell a story that may be personal, yet with universal connections.
CONTACT: Lisa Raye Garlock; [email protected]