The Monument Quilt by FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture is an ongoing collection of stories from survivors of sexual and domestic violence. Not Alone Baltimore is a month long awareness campaign blanketing our city with messages of support for survivors, on billboards and bus ads. Alongside this campaign, a series of events hosted by partner organizations will highlight the intersections of sexual violence and issues facing Baltimore. At the end of Not Alone Baltimore, on April 10, 2016, the Monument Quilt will blanket two blocks of North Avenue between Howard and Charles Street with 1500 stories from survivors of sexual and domestic violence and messages of support from their communities. The day long event will include readings, discussions, workshops and performances.
Also leading up to this display on North Avenue, from Fall 2015 - Spring 2016, FORCE is hosting 50 workshops in locations across the city, in which people can create their own square. The Monument Quilt, which has toured the country, is a national project to support rather than shame and blame survivors. The quilt is building a culture where we publicly support, instead of publicly shame, survivors. Written, stitched and painted onto red fabric, our stories come together in highly visible places to create and demand public space to heal. The Monument Quilt resists a narrow and mainstream narrative by telling many stories, not just one.
The following organizations are working in alliance with FORCE and Not Alone Baltimore, through joint programming and in kind support: Station North Arts and Entertainment, Inc, Motor House, Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation, Strong City Baltimore, TurnAround, Inc, Maryland Institute College of Art, University of Baltimore, Hollaback Baltimore, Free State Legal, the Family Arts Museum, and Baltimore Collegetown Network. The project is supported by Open Society Institute-Baltimore, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, PNC Bank, and Baltimore City Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice.
