By Abby Cloud | Photo: Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts

On Saturday, June 22 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Florida State University’s Museum of Fine Art is asking the community to contribute their art skills for a huge project. At this Make it at MOFA event, the museum will be creating a “quilt” square that will be on display this fall as a part of the Big Bend Quilt Trail, a project coordinated by the Gadsden Arts Center.

The Big Bend Quilt Trail Project is a “public art installation of large wooden quilt blocks placed around the community.” The design of these quilt-like murals is drawn from Barn Quilts’ “large, colorful, geometric designs painted on the side of barns.” According to the Gadsden Arts Center, North America is home to nearly 8,000 quilt blocks in all 50 of the United States and 3 Canadian provinces. These installations and artworks all across the country help celebrate quilting in rural America, as well as honor women’s traditional arts.

At the Gadsden Arts Center and Museum, this project will coincide with their exhibition, “From the Cedar Chest: Generations of Southern Quilting,” which showcases “quilts borrowed from private and public collections in the North Florida area,” ranging from the 1830s to the present day. The purpose behind this installment is to “discuss the practical function of quilting, the social value, the preservation family history through fabrics, and the art of traditional symbols and designs.” This exhibition will run from September 14, 2019, to December 14, 2019.

Participants of all ages are encouraged to come out and help paint the square that will be featured in the museum’s courtyard. The event is free and visitors can even make their own quilt-inspired button as they learn more about the history of quilt patterns. To read more about this event, you visit the Make it at MOFA event page here.