Vision Quilt is a volunteer-based, grassroots organization from Oregon. Their members are teachers, business owners, parents, artists, social workers, journalists, retirees and gun owners. Last year, founder and Executive Director Cathy deForest visited Lighthouse and collaborated with 7th and 8th grade students and teachers as they studied gun violence.
The project on gun violence was an extraordinary three-month expedition unit that embraced different classes such as Making, Math, Humanities, and Science, and culminated with students creating Vision Quilt panels. The whole project was exhibited at the E14 Gallery in Downtown Oakland, providing an opportunity to share their work and inspire the community.
During the 8th grade workshops, some of the students and staff members agreed to talk with Vision Quilt volunteers. A video was created from these recordings, illustrating the students’ and community members’ take on gun violence in our country. This perspective can help us better understand the weight of living in fear of gun violence, but also help realize that change is possible.
From the Vision Quilt website:
The Vision Quilt will create a national network of supporters cultivating compassionate, nonviolent change through the making and exhibiting of quilt panels created by thousands of people across the country. […] As participants from diverse backgrounds, including gun owners, engage in dialogue, a new culture will emerge that will lead to improvements in gun safety, including new legislation, mental health laws, police training and public education.
To find out more about Vision Quilt:
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Anna Milada Grossi is currently an Americorps VISTA Project Coordinator, serving through MakerEd at Lighthouse Community Public School. She is assisting in the Making, Art, Design and Lighthouse Creativity Lab Programs.
