The Monument Quilt
The Monument Quilt was launched in 2013, and over six years FORCE, collected nearly 3,000 squares of the quilt with messages of affirmation and stories from survivors. We partnered with over 100 organizations across the US and in Mexico, to organize 50 Quilt displays in 33 different cities.
The Monument Quilt, a project of Baltimore and Mexico City based FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, is a collection of over 3,000 stories by survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence and our allies, written, painted, and stitched onto red fabric. Our stories literally blanket highly public, outdoor places to create and demand space to heal, and resist a singular narrative about sexual violence. The culminating display was May 31 – June 2, 2019, on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This was the only time that the quilt was displayed in its entirety. Images from the final display are available here.
The culminating display was covered by Ms Magazine, Voice of America, the Marshall Project, the Washington Post, WUSA, Huffington Post, and more.
The project previously received national coverage through MSNBC and Refinery 29, including of our art actions at Standing Rock and in solidarity with Marissa Alexander. We continue to receive local coverage during Monument Quilt workshops and events organized by our partners, such as this article in the Alton Telegraph. Video from our 2014 tour can be seen here, and footage from our hometown, Baltimore, is here.
Members of the staff collective shaped the vision of the Quilt, and it was guided by our Leadership Team. At the time of the culminating display, the staff collective included Charnell Covert, E Cadoux, Mora Fernández, Hannah Brancato, and Shanti Flagg. Former staff collective members include Saida Agostini, Robin Marquis and Rebecca Nagle. The Monument Quilt was co-founded by Hannah Brancato and Rebecca Nagle in 2013.
