- This event has passed.
The Holobiont Quilt
October 29, 2023 @ 10:30 am - 5:00 pm PDT
Sincere Studio will host a quilting bee 10:30am-5:00pm on Oct. 29th, for stitching a holobiont ecosystem, made in community, honoring trans existence.
A holobiont is multiple organisms existing together to create a vibrant ecological community benefiting the surrounding environment. The ways trans relationships form, often creating loving networks through found and chosen families that radiate out to form supportive communities, reflects the nature of a holobiont ecosystem. Anti-trans rhetoric has argued that trans existence is contrary to nature; using holobiont relationships to symbolize how queer and trans communities and existence benefit the larger ecosystem is one way to counteract that rhetoric.
These themes of queer and trans community, vitality, and relationships will be reflected in the creation of a community quilt! The legacies of cultural institutions such as the freedom quilting bee and the AIDS quilt are an important part of history and reflect the activism possible with the power of sewing in community.
The fabric used for the quilt will be made from cyanotype photos of queer and trans individuals living in Portland, transferred to recycled fabric panels. Alongside those photos will be cyanotypes of local lichen, one of the more recognizable examples of a holobiont relationship. As a whole, the Holobiont Quilt will be the creation of an ecosystem, made in community, honoring the myriad of trans existence.
