THE WELCOME QUILT PROJECT

The mission of the Welcome Quilt Project is to counteract messages of hate and fear directed to people who are refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in the United States by including in public places messages of hope, welcome, and support created by people of all ages around the country.

The vision of the Welcome Quilt Project is to help create a sense of community, support, and belonging for people who have immigrated to our country.  

The Welcome Quilt Project leverages the soft power of creative activism through art as a means of welcoming and change.

For making and displaying Welcome Quilts:

∙      To make and display Welcome Quilts in communities around the country:

∙      To seek feedback on the impact of the welcoming messages from this project on those being welcomed:

∙      To combine the softness and warm feelings associated with quilts to welcoming:

∙      To develop a sense of community among those who draw the messages of welcome and decide where to display the quilts – and among the quilters: and

∙      To create beautiful works of art to use as an instrument of welcoming and social justice.

For the traveling Welcome quilt exhibit:

∙      To share the mission of the Welcome Quilt Project in communities around the country by featuring the Welcome Quilts with messages of hope, welcome, and support to people who are immigrating to the United States:

∙      To include in the exhibit art quilts containing drawings and messages of what children and families immigrating to the United States love:

∙      To examine the messages displayed in the quilts to discuss and understand the wisdom they offer us:

∙      To engage in the curriculum of empathy and belonging accompanying the exhibit with others or as a self-guided discovery to deepen the experience of the exhibit:

∙      To respond to the curriculum in meaningful, welcoming ways: and

∙      To encourage exhibit attendees to make Welcome Quilts to display in their home communities upon leaving the exhibit.

After engaging in the accompanying curriculum:

∙      To seek out what we have in common with each other:

∙      To learn what matters to families who are immigrating regarding welcome and then respond with love:

∙      To begin to understand the trauma that is typically part of forced migration including the reasons for leaving, the journey, the experience at the border, and the ability to become part of a new community:

∙      To realize that people already living in communities are the ones responsible for creating opportunities to welcome newcomers and safety seekers:

∙      To engage in discussions about belonging and how to foster it, and then create opportunities for belonging:

∙      To examine and discuss policy related to immigration and the border which are done on our behalf by our government:

∙      To speak out against policies that add to the trauma experienced by children, families, and adults seeking asylum in the United States:

∙      To offer ideas for change: and

∙      To develop partnerships with other organizations and projects with similar goals.

 For the Welcome Quilt Project Website:

∙      To document Welcome Quilt exhibits around the country:

∙      To celebrate and encourage welcoming and belonging by providing a forum for people to post pictures and stories of what they do in their communities: 

∙      To offer resources for people to learn more about the immigration journey, immigration policy in the United States, and opportunities to advocate for migration with dignity through suggested books for children and adults, websites, organizations involved in border work, and related articles: and

∙      To grow and expand the project by responding to new opportunities related to our mission.