Chatham gallery creating art 'quilt' for Black History Month

An arts organization in Chatham-Kent is looking for contributions foraunique community project tomarkBlack History Month.

The theme of the project is "celebrating Black lives" and the Thames Art Gallery and ARTspaceareseeking submissions from the public for original works of art on the theme. The art can be any media, including painting, drawingand writing.

The public submissions will be combined and set up in a pandemic-friendly public display.

"What we're having people do is produce a piece of work and then photograph it and then send it to us and we will print it out and then assemble it in the form of a quilt," Phil Vanderwall, curator of the Thames Art Gallery,saidon CBC Radio's Windsor Morning on Friday.

The completedwork will be displayed in the window of the ARTspace gallery onKing Street in downtown Chatham.

"So it's a nice public space," he said.

The 'quilt'format of the project allows for community participation while preventing close contact. Both ARTspace and the Thames Art Gallery are closed due to COVID-19.

Vanderwallsaid quilt-making is currently undergoing a bit of a revival.

"This seemed likea good opportunity to explore that," he said.

Submissions are already coming in and the deadline is Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m.

The quiltwill be unveiled Feb. 5 and will remain on display until Feb 26.