His grandmother calmly looked at him and said, “Pick any color or pattern you like, and I will show you how to add it to my quilt.” She’d already invested months of work into building an intricate pattern, which she was allowing him to break. “My grandmother knew I was struggling with something—my sexual identity, homophobia, and White-body supremacy. She intuited that I needed to feel embraced, accepted, and heard. We did not talk much. She taught me how to quilt pretty much in silence. She never told my parents. It was just the two of us. It was the most loving act,” O’Arwisters remembers. This kindness made a deep impact on him during a very difficult time to be Black and queer. In the U.S., Jim Crow segregation was the law of the land, and he remembers watching movies on the balcony of his hometown’s theater because it was illegal for Black people to enter the lobby. Homophobia was just as rampant and socially acceptable. O’Arwisters remembers that at this time, Black people were redefining themselves as strong individuals worthy of respect and equality. He decided to help create an environment of non- judgmental acceptance with his Crochet Jams to give others what his grandmother gave him. “It is my family legacy in remembrance of her,” he says.
PUBLIC ART CREATION AS A SPACE FOR SOCIAL LIBERATION What O’Arwisters remembers most from the many Crochet Jams he’s hosted is not so much what the people created but how people reacted to the experience. “When individuals feel comfortable and not judged, they will discuss many personal issues they would never discuss in public—abortion, divorce, unhappiness,” he says. He remembers one particular event in Asbury Park, NJ where a man stood and stared at the people gathered around large piles of colorful fabric. Finally, he walked over and asked what was happening. “Welcome to Crochet Jam!” O’Arwisters said. “It’s a free public event in which we use the folk-art tradition of crocheting strips of fabric to foster social interaction, liberation, and creativity.” The man joined, crocheted for a while, and then started helping others and showing them how to single-stitch crochet. Before he left, he said goodbye to his new friends. Then he walked over to O’Arwisters. “My father died a few days ago, and I had nowhere to go. Thank you for being here,” he said, leaving O’Arwisters speechless. O’Arwisters reflects on how humans carry a great deal of pain and fear and hope that community art events of this nature help ease that. In this way, he can work toward community liberation, creating a world where all people can live and be respected as their true selves. His current exhibitions include A Chorus of Twisted Threads at the Patricia Sweetow Gallery, Freeform and Razor Sharp at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora, and Fight and Flight at the Museum of Craft and Design.
@CROCHETJAM @RAMEKON
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