The Peace quilt in East Somerville brought together residents of all ages to explore peace and what it means. After launching the project at the Teen Empowerment peace conference, we’ve held a series of sessions for community members from age 3 to age 90 to make squares to add to the design. All of the images are related to peace, but each person interpreted the word in their own way. We had squares that explored peace between neighborhoods, others that showed the flowers that can only grow in times of peace, and many squares that show pictures of things that make people smile and laugh.
Together, the Teens from Teen Empowerment and participants in the Council on Aging’s programs arranged and sewed the squares to create a decorative border for the door of the building that they share. Below are photos of the group working and a before and after photo that shows how the quilt adds color and an important message to what used to be a very blank space. Best of all, the participants planned a potluck for after the quilt was hung and the food was amazing!
