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The Quilted Conscience Exhibit
March 10 - April 12 in Cronin Hall at the Stuhr Building

GRAND ISLAND, STUHR MUSEUM - In September 2008, a group of Sudanese-American girls, now living in Grand Island, Nebraska created a beautiful mural size story quilt. Created at Stuhr Museum’s Railroad Town the quilt focuses on the girl’s’ “Dreams and Memories”. Pictures from this experience, plus several of the quilts created are now on display in the Stuhr Building's Cronin Hall through Sunday, April 12.

These student artists, whose families are refugees of the crisis in South Sudan, learned basic sewing and quilting skills while celebrating and discussing with their families the traditions and heritage of their Sudanese homeland. Each student created one or more quilt images of their “memories” of Africa and their “dreams” of America.

The Abbott Sisters Project, in association with the Grand Island Public Schools, offered a 5 day Learning Workshop that was filmed and photographed. The noted quilt-artist, Peggie Hartwell, taught some of Grand Island’s newest immigrants in the historical homes of Railroad Town’s oldest immigrants.

Peggie Hartwell was born in Springfield, South Carolina where she spent her early childhood among skilled quilters and accomplished oral storytellers. After spending years performing Jazz, Modern Primitive and Modern dance techniques she turned her creative focus to visual artwork and quilting. She is a member of National Chapter of the Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN), the American Quilt Society (AQS), and of the National Quilting Association (NQA).

The quilts on exhibit were made by Hartwell and were inspired by her time spent at Stuhr Museum teaching and interacting with Grand Island’s Sudanese-American girls. The finished story quilt will be unveiled March 22, 2009 at a special event to honor and celebrate the girl’s unique artwork, heritage and culture. It will be held at the Edith Abbott Memorial Library in Grand Island.

Many thanks to Stuhr Staff, Kay Cynova for providing these photographs and to Leslie Vollnogle for her help with the text. For more information, contact the museum at (308) 385-5316.