After two postponements from Spring 2015 due to rain, FORCE brought The Monument Quilt to Johns Hopkins University’s ‘Beach,’ a grassy hill in front of the library. The daylong exhibit on the sunnny and gorgeous Wednesday, September 23 was a collaboration with JHU’s CHEW and the Sexual Assault Resource Unit (SARU), and created for and by survivors of sexual assault as a place to heal and to find support.
The Monument Quilt is a collaboration of thousands of personal stories, words of support, and messages inspiring change, stitched together to encourage a culture that is supportive of survivors. Participants are invited to interact with the quilt and to make their own quilt square, to share a story or a message of support.
The exhibit offered a de-stress station with different activities all day. This event also included performances, relaxation stations, the Dream Reiki Project, and more. Representatives from Turnaround, Inc. — a local sexual assault and domestic violence center — were present to speak about the services they offer.
Other participating groups included A Place to Talk (APTT), Chinese Students Association, Hopkins Feminists, Shakti classical Indian dance team, Stressbusters, and Taiwanese American Students Association (TASA). They also had dogs from Karma Dogs available.
Photos by Cara Ober
