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Stitching Stories Reimagined is a collaborative public artwork by North Carolina artists Eliza Redmann, Carlos Gonzalez, David Wilson, and Owens Daniels, inspired by a quilt created by four incarcerated women at the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women. Now installed at Dix Park, the 30‐foot piece transforms the original quilt’s narratives into an immersive experience using mosaic, mirrored surfaces, and custom vinyl design. Through these elements, the artists invite visitors to reflect on the experiences of the 62 women whose stories shape the project.
About the Artwork
During the COVID-19 pandemic, four women in the Canary Unit of the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women (NCCIW) crocheted a quilt that told the stories of 62 incarcerated women. Each square represented one year that a women had served behind bars and ribbons were used to symbolize the individual struggles each woman had overcome. The quilt was finished just before Mother's Day 2021 and named Stitching Stories: A Prison Awareness Quilt.
The Stitching Stories Reimagined project brings this original quilt to life as a 30 foot long public art project. Designed for travel and permanent installation in a modified shipping container, this public art piece recreates the quilt's stories using a mosaic wall, opposing mirror wall, and vinyl wrap. As with the crocheted quilt, each square in the mosaic reflects one year of time served, highlighted with ribbons representing each woman's struggles with addiction, domestic violence, sexual assault, mental health, COVID-19, children left behind, and the death of a loved one while incarcerated.
The mirror wall stands proudly in opposition, a chance for the viewer to stand in the place of one of the original quilt artists or the many women incarcerated in North Carolina today. The words surrounding the portraits are from workshops held in the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women and in the community with women in Arise Collective's Women's Reentry Project.
Artists
Eliza Redmann
Eliza is a licensed architect, sculptural artist, and founder of Folded Poetry Design Studio based in Durham, North Carolina. When a car accident upended Eliza's health, personal life, and career in architecture, she was forced to reinvent herself and utilize her creative potential for healing by creating art. Her passion for creating is now driven by her changed experience of life after her traumatic brain injury. Her work is uniquely informed by ger own experience with disability.
Website: www.foldedpoetry.com
Instagram: @foldedpoetry
Carlos Gonzalez
Carlos is a mosaic artist and educators who elaborates stories in detail using various materials to express personal feelings or portray someone on a substrate of canvas. His twenty-four years of experience in the medium give him the characteristics to redefine ideas that share a common ground with humankind.
Website: www.ncmosaics.com
Instagram: @mojicamosaics
David Wilson
David is a Durham based public artist. A primary driver in his public works is the creation of space for interpretation by all, with an overall goal to foster introspection, communication, and provide a platform for education. Wilson employs his background in design, sculptural, and public art to create site- specific work that explores the site's social, historical, and functional context, and well as the architectural and urban phenomenology of the space.
Website: www.davidwilsonpublicart.com
Instagram: @david_wilson_06
Owens Daniels
Owens' photographic career starting at the U.S. Army Photographic School of Cartography, learning the basics of Photography. In addition to his formal training, he continues his education through self-education, workshops, and a career as a freelance photographer and visual artist. One area that has extended his photographic career is the art of visual storytelling, a distinctive and decisive style that continues to open doors for him as an artist.
Website: www.owensdaniels.com
X: @odaniels59
Learn More
More information about the project and the artists can be found on the Stitching Stories website.
Community-Initiated Public Art
Raleigh Arts has a program to help artists and community members add art to neighborhoods and public spaces. The public art team is available to guide you through project development, artist selection, gaining site approvals, and the City permitting process. This program is open to anyone interested in adding public art to City property, including artists, community members, organizations, and designers.