What does peace look like? A relatively simple sounding question can have so many different answers.
This fall, Milner Library partnered with students in the Department of Health Sciences’ Global Health course, to create a community quilt based on the 17 goals for sustainable development established by the United Nations (UN). It is displayed on Milner Library’s sixth floor through mid-December.
Each square of the quilt signifies one of the UN’s 17 goals—from eliminating poverty to ensuring good health and well-being—in an effort to unite the community through a shared vision of peace for the International Day of Peace, which is observed globally each year on September 21.
Students at University High School and Thomas Metcalf School first created the quilt square designs on paper. Then, several Illinois State University students with various registered student organizations (RSOs), including the Student Wellness Ambassador Team (SWAT), Students Ending Rape Culture (SERC), PERIOD, and Fix-It Friday, transferred the designs onto fabric squares and contributed some original designs as well as written responses. Finally, Milner Library employees sewed the squares together to create the finished quilt.
“The process of creating the squares was my favorite part,” said junior public health major Madison Heuer. As a member of SWAT, she helped transfer the students’ designs onto quilt squares.
“I enjoyed the children’s interpretation of what peace means to them. Being able to translate those thoughts into the quilt was truly a cool experience,” Heuer said.
For the past few years, Milner Library staff and students in the Global Health course have commemorated the International Day of Peace and what the day represents through various programming, according to Teaching and Learning Librarian Caitlin Stewart.
“This year, the theme for the International Day of Peace was actions for peace, and the United Nations provided a list of examples of what those actions could look like—one of those being a community art project,” Stewart said. “There’s a robust history of quilt making activism with examples all throughout history, specifically in the United States, but also globally.”
She explained that the quilt provides a visual representation of peace. The artistic approach also made it easier to include the perspective of younger elementary school students. Stewart said the goal of the project was to be inclusive and involve community members of all ages and backgrounds.
“I would say that a quilt probably has a higher impact for students who are quickly walking through a hallway, who maybe aren’t going to stop and read a lot of text,” Stewart said. “I also think that including children in the creation of the project was important, because children’s images are very powerful.”
Outreach and Student Engagement Librarian Anna Twiddy said the project acts as a time capsule. She and Stewart hope that future viewers of the quilt can acknowledge progress toward the community’s ideal vision of peace.
“I think looking back on this from the future lens, it’d be really nice to see progress,” Stewart said. “Maybe we’ll look back at what people imagined for what a peaceful society looks like, and some of that vision has been realized or all of that vision has been realized. I think that’s something powerful about this type of thing, where it’s creating a record, or a snapshot of what people are hoping for in the future. I hope that we see progress.”
The exhibit was installed on the sixth floor of Milner Library November 1, and it will be on display until mid-December. After that, the quilt will make its rounds on display at Metcalf School and U-High. There’s also a digital version of the exhibit hosted by Milner Library, which displays the students’ original artwork. Heuer said the experience has been “both fulfilling and inspiring.”
“Knowing that people would see our work and be inspired made the experience even more rewarding,” Heuer said.
The quilt-making project and the display efforts were funded by the Faculty Community Engagement Learning Grant and Milner Library.
