SOCIAL JUSTICE SEWING ACADEMY
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Activist ABC's | Bianca Mercado, 2017

Materials: Cotton, batiks,  
Techniques: Raw-edge appliqué, hand embroidered, machine quilted 
Finished Size: The ones with 4 letters are 20" by 83" and the ones with 5 letters are 20" by 99"


Artist Statement

Activist ABC’s was designed and created over the summer after being inspired by an SJSA workshop in Cambridge. In the process of designing, the goal was to have each letter of the alphabet represented in an illustratable way that related to social justice. The question of how to represent concepts of social justice were constantly negotiated: for example, “R” was initially going to stand for racism, but in the process of designing the actual block I had to question what racism looks like? Using past experiences as a person of color and paying close attention to the redlining in my own community, I attempted to understand how racism might be represented visually and clearly. Ultimately, I had to come to terms with the reality that some things cannot be seen or felt and the enormous task of adequately representing racism’s complexity was too large for one block. In the end the “R” block illustrated Rosa Parks and the bus boycotts that stood in direct resistance to the racist and unfair systems of oppression and disadvantage. The same process went for other ideas that I ultimately retired such as “Access to Free Healthcare”, “Equity”, “Justice” and “Gun Control”.
​

Upon completing the quilt and reflecting on the process, two incredible learnings rose to the surface. First, being unable to put a theoretical face to systems of oppression such as xenophobia, and mass incarceration, allowed me to recognize activists and ideas that perhaps would not have been otherwise acknowledged. This created space to highlight 13 year-old Zulaikha Patel who led a protest against her school system in response to their ban of natural hair in South Africa; colorism, the discrimination of those with darker skin tones; and the 4 year long, almost forgotten water crisis of Flint, Michigan. Allowing these ideas to be seen rather than more mainstream concepts, gives a chance for the viewer to learn about people and concepts that are not as well-known or do not have persistent media coverage. The second realization I had after completing the Activist ABC’s was that I’m incredibly appreciative of SJSA and the SJSA volunteers with whom the quilt would not have been made possible without. From the amazing fabric that was sent to me to the collaborative work with each embroiderer that amplified each of the block’s messages and to Nancy Williams for her expert creativity with long arm quilting in the final stage. I now recognize that the partnership with the Social Justice Sewing Academy and its volunteers have succeeded in finding that balance between activism, art, and community. 

Address

Social Justice Sewing Academy
​PO Box 2473 
​Antioch, CA 94531

Email

info@sjsacademy.com
  • HOME
    • ABOUT >
      • SJSA Business Incubator
      • MEET THE TEAM
      • SJSA AMBASSADORS >
        • Audrey Bernier
        • Bryan Robinson
        • Cecilia Charney
        • Kailah Foreman
        • Ann Guiam
        • Carina Cabriales
        • Chloe Gorski
        • Fia Carlone
        • Yohana Tecleab
  • Shop
  • DONATE
    • Become a Monthly Donor
    • SPONSOR
  • GET INVOLVED
    • HOST A WORKSHOP
    • JOIN THE TEAM
    • HOST THE ART >
      • WHAT WE DO >
        • Quilts of Remembrance
        • THE MOVEMENT >
          • TESTIMONIALS
          • OUR COMMUNITY QUILT PROCESS
        • The SJSA Remembrance Project >
          • Remembrance Project Page
        • Block of the Month
  • GALLERY
    • WORKSHOPS >
      • Arts in Corrections Conference
      • Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School
      • Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
      • Cambridge Rindge and Latin
      • Jefferson High School
      • Girls Garage Workshop
      • Lakota Youth Speak
      • Obama Portrait Workshop
      • Pollination Project Workshop
      • RAC x Latina Center Workshop
      • Stitch. Resist. Persist.
      • Overton High School
      • Vallejo Probation
    • PROGRAMS >
      • SJSA x SJQTM >
        • Community Action Projects
      • 2019 SUMMER INSTITUTE
      • 2018 SUMMER INSTITUTE
      • SJSA Summer 2018
      • Berkeley Summer 2016
    • Quilts >
      • Individual Quilts
      • Berkeley SJSA Class of 2016
      • Art Behind Bars Volume I
      • Art Behind Bars Volume II
      • Community Quilts >
        • 2016 Community Quilts
        • 2017 Community Quilts
        • 2018 Community Quilts
        • 2019 Community Quilts
        • 2020 Community Quilts
        • 2021 Community Quilts
      • Cuba Series
      • Obama Portrait Series
    • Exhibitions >
      • Current Exhibitions >
        • UC Riverside
      • Past Exhibitions >
        • Connecting Threads: SF Jewish Center
        • Fuller Craft Museum
        • Pacific International Quilt Festival 2018
        • Threads of Truth Gallery Guide
        • Panorama Framing Gallery
        • Pick Museum at NIU
        • Mule Gallery >
          • Mule Gallery Guide
        • Museum of Design Atlanta
        • New England Quilt Museum
        • QuiltCon 2018
        • QuiltCon 2019
        • QuiltCon 2020
        • Richmond Art Center
        • Ross Art Museum
        • San Jose Museum of Quilt & Textiles
        • Utah Quilt & Sewing Marketplace
        • Voices in Cloth
        • World Quilt Tampa 2019
  • PRESS
    • ARTICLES >
      • A Stitch in Time - Fuller Craft Exhibit Review
      • Brentwood Press
      • Britex Fabric
      • BTMB Magazine
      • Chicago Tribune
      • Craftivism Blog
      • Crafty Planner
      • Create Whimsy
      • Creativity Project
      • Harvard GSE
      • Huffington Post
      • Hyperallergic Article
      • Mercery News
      • Midwest Craft Con 2020
      • Modern Patchwork
      • Quilt Trip
      • Quilting Art Magazine
      • Quilting as a Social Medium
      • Seriously Badass Women
      • Stonemountain and Daughter
      • Teen Vogue
      • Urban Plains
      • Washington Post - Injustice Block
    • PODCASTS >
      • Close Knit Podcast
      • Craft Alliance Podcast
      • Crafty Planner Podcast
      • JCCSF Panel
      • Just Wanna Quilt - Colleen Haraden
      • Just Wanna Quilt - Nancy Williams
      • Just Wanna Quilt - Sara Trail
      • Law and Disorder Podcast
      • Positively Creative Summit
  • CONTACT
  • Resources
  • New Page