Through February 28, 2008 at The Grace Museum, Abilene TX
Alzheimer’s: Forgetting Piece By Piece is an exhibit created by the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative organization to raise awareness of the plight of 5 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.
Ami Sims, founder of the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative and curator of this show, began contacting professional quilters in 2005 with the idea of a traveling exhibit. To her surprise many of her colleagues had also experienced Alzheimer’s in a very personal way. They were eager to use their talents to make a difference, to tell their stories and to comfort others.
The result is an exhibit of 52 art quilts, each unique to the quilter’s style and the story told in fabric and thread. Each tribute is accompanied by the artist’s statement.
Alzheimer’s: Forgetting Piece By Piece will be on exhibit in in Abilene’s The Grace Museum in Galleries A, B and C through February 28, 2008.
The Grace Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday. Admission is free Thursday evening after 5 p.m.
For more information visit The Grace Museum website.
Image: Cheryl Lynch, Leaving Us
We’re so delighted that The Grace Museum is hosting “Alzheimer’s: Forgetting Piece by Piece.” It is a beautiful venue and the installation looks wonderful. We hope many people come to see the quilts, and thank the residents of Abilene for their support.
Ami Simms
Founder & Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative
Curator, “Alzheimer’s: Forgetting Piece by Piece”
How exciting to have this wonderful exhibit in place all month. I have purchased the companion book and have been so moved, both by the works themselves and by the artists’ statements that accompany them. So much tragedy, so much upheaval is represented in this collection. While I have not made quilts for the Priority: Alzheimer’s quilt auction, I have bid on (and won!) several. My little collection of little quilts reminds me of my own mother every day, and how her mind is slipping away.
God bless Ami Simms and the quilters who contributed to this moving exhibit. I hope many in the Abilene area will make the effort to see it before it moves on.
This exhibit and the accompanying book are an incredible testatment to the human heart. Difficult as it is to read the artist statements and look at the quilts, one feels wrapped in love and in the beauty of family. And rather than leaving the exhibit with a feeling of hopelessness, Ami has charged ahead to do something about it. And we can all help find the cure!
I have not seen the quilts, but I do have the book and was very moved by the quilts and comments by the quiltmakers. I have made three Priority Alzheimer’s quilts and have two more in process. I have not personally experienced Alzheimer’s but fear it may well be in my future.
I saw this exhibit in June 2007 at the National Quilting Association Annual Show in Columbus, Ohio. I am a professional caregiver. This exhibit is a revelation into the emotions that Alzheimer’s Disease brings to families. Do Not just look at the quilts without reading the artists’ statements. This is a most real and meaningful way to learn about AD. Thank you Ami for your activism for this cause and thanks to the other quilt artists for sharing their range of raw emotions through their art.
I am one of Ami’s $1,000 Promise Quilters, having made and donated over 30 Priority Quilts. There are four more ready to send and another four in various stages of completion.
I am asked too often why I continue to make more Priority Quilts since I’ve already surpassed my $1,000 commitment. The answer is so simple: because I believe that each of us CAN make a difference.
Thank you to the Grace Museum for showcasing the emotionally powerful AAQI Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibit.