Stitching for Change: Small Protest & Pride Quilts

with Victoria Marcetti
June 13, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Tuition: $250
Materials Fee: $20

In this hands-on fiber workshop, participants will explore quilting as a form of personal expression, collective care, and social activism. Drawing from the long history of quilts as carriers of memory, resistance, and community storytelling, we will create small protest and LGBTQIA+ themed quilts that honor identity, celebrate Pride, and speak to the causes that matter most to each maker. We’ll begin with a brief introduction to historical and contemporary examples of activist textiles, followed by demonstrations on simple piecing, appliqué, lettering, and incorporating symbolic color palettes (such as Pride flag variations). Participants will then design and stitch their own small quilt—sized for wall display, gifting, or carrying to a march—experimenting with pattern, text, and imagery that reflect their values and voice. This workshop centers process, play, and exploration; no sewing or quilting experience is required. All identities and skill levels are welcome.

Plan to bring: any personal fabric scraps or meaningful materials you may want to incorporate (optional). All other tools and supplies will be provided.

Location: Main Campus - 3435 Rupprecht Way, Saugatuck, MI 49453

Victoria Marcetti (they/them) is a queer and neurodiverse interdisciplinary artist and youth development worker who lives, works, and creates on Potawatomi and Peoria land, or so-called Kalamazoo, Michigan. They have been facilitating and supporting writing and art workshops for youth through Read and Write Kalamazoo for 10 years, as well as supporting and encouraging adults in explorations of fiber arts, printmaking, and book arts. Marcetti makes art because their heart, brain, and hands have to do something to try to make sense of the world around them. They believe in the process of making art as a tool for connecting with and understanding ourselves and our communities, and for shaping change in our communities and the larger world.

have no fear, thrifted and scrap materials, 10 x 12 inches, 2026

(above) headshot by Jake Waggoner and Kelly Jo Sutton