Catlin Gabel students turn to art in wake of abortion court case

By Hazel Walrod, ‘22

[written 12/15/21]

In response to the Texas abortion law appearing in front of the Supreme Court and the looming threat that Roe v. Wade, which protects abortion access across the United States, will be overturned, Catlin Gabel School (CGS) junior Lottie Malkmus turned to quilting.

Malkmus started crocheting during the pandemic, and she found that it was a good avenue for reflection. “This could be a really cool mechanism for protest and community unification,” Malkmus said about creating a community protest quilt.

Malkmus publicized her quilting project on Instagram and later in the Upper School daily bulletin, asking students to sew, knit, or crochet an 8x8 inch square of any design. The quilt has spread beyond just CGS students, and includes alumni and Malkmus’ instagram followers from around the country.

“Protest, I found, doesn’t necessarily implement solutions or disrupt the establishment, but I think it can mobilize thinking,” Malkmus said.

The use of quilts as tools of protest is not new. People, especially women, have been coming together to make art in community for ages, as the article Malkmus shared in the bulletin stated. Historically, examples of protest quilts include a collaborative quilt made during the Civil War, and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, that included 48,000 panels.

Unfortunately, no men have wanted to participate thus far. Malkmus commented on the gender imbalance of art. “Art and craft has always been a gendered issue,” she said. Crafts, such as knitting and quilting, are generally considered domestic and feminine activities, whereas art such as painting is taken more seriously and has been historically male-dominated.

Malkmus emphasized the femininity of craft and quilting as part of her vision for the quilt. She wants to use this art form that, to her, represents warmth, and bringing people together. The particular focus of abortion rights as a largely female issue lends its hand to this mode of protest.

“It’s the product of a woman’s fingers, and within each stitch there is an intimacy,” Malkmus explained.

[Update 1/25/22]

Currently, the community quilt is displayed in the CAC in all its patchwork glory! Go check it out.