‘Voices in Thread’ textile exhibit highlights the power of quilts as activism

Social justice movements are made up of many people, each with their own individual story, coming together for a collective purpose.

Some are choosing to share those ideas through the medium of textiles, which are the centerpiece of a new exhibit at the Mills Station Arts & Culture Center (MACC) in Rancho Cordova running through Feb. 21. 

Called “Voices in Thread,” the exhibit showcases a variety of “community quilts” made up of patches created by participants of the Social Justice Sewing Academy. 

The organization teaches people how to sew and quilt as ways of telling their personal journeys, and highlighting ideas like personal transformation, community cohesion and activism in pursuit of making the world a better place.

Sara Trail is the founder of the Social Justice Sewing Academy, and joined Insight Host Vicki Gonzalez to talk about the process of storytelling with every single stitch.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview highlights

You've been sewing since you were four years young. How did you get into it? 

My grandma was a quilter, and my great-grandmother was too. I think coming from an African-American tradition of quilters, from slavery to 2026, I think sewing has traditionally been used from clothing to quilts to creativity. Fast forwarding to, you know, Bisa Butler now just making masterpieces. Coming from a lineage of quilters, being an only child, I think I was taught to sew retrospectively because I can do it while alone. You can do it at your house. I think my parents invested in sewing so I could do something hands on, and it was kind of like an alternative for babysitting. Just get her sewing machine and let her go. 

You didn't just keep this artistic expression to yourself. You wrote a book at the age of 13 called “Sew with Sara.” In 2017 you founded the Social Justice Sewing Academy. Why is it so important for you to teach others how to sew and quilt?

Artist, author, and founder of the Social Justice Sewing Academy, Sara Trail talking about her work.Courtesy of the Mill Station Arts & Culture Center

I think sewing has so often been associated with those from a position of privilege. Most people who sew have a sewing studio, two to three sewing machines, might be retired and have a lot of free time. And I think that home economics has been cut from public schools in a lot of ways due to the cost. Even making a quilt, it costs more to make a quilt than it does to buy a blanket. And so I think the purpose of sewing has really diminished with sweatshop labor. Outsourced, external factors. 

But I think for me, sewing is such a hands-on expression. And I think you can really use textile arts in general not only to create things for purpose or function — like clothes or blankets, drapery or upholstery — but you can really use it to have a voice. Use it as a medium to promote a message that you care about.

Why do you think it is such a good medium for advocacy and activism?

I think it's because everyone's familiar with it. From being born — you're wrapped in cloth — to mummies, you die in cloth. Some people can live their entire life without ever doing clay or maybe touching a paintbrush. But because fabric is such a familiar medium, we engage with it every day in getting dressed… unless perhaps you're a nudist. 

But regardless, I think that because everyone has such a comfort with it — cutting up and recreating and upcycling — I think just reusing a medium we're all comfortable with can make sewing a familiar medium. 

Your organization offers a variety of workshops. Do you work with people of all ages and generations?

We do, all abilities. We've done workshops in elementary schools. We've done it in juvenile halls. We've done it in adult jails. We've done it in high schools, college campuses, retirement communities. I think sewing isn't a monolith like “oh, sewing is a grandma’s hobby.” And we kind of push that narrative, who told you sewing was for that? When you go into fashion, “oh, that's for queer men.” 

Sometimes there's associations that we have to really dispel because sewing isn't for one type of person. Sewing is something that anyone can access. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can go to the thrift store and sew for a really low cost of entry. Or you can start at a fabric store. You can make sewing as affordable as you want to, and I think the flexibility that sewing can give you, depending on what you want to make and how you want to make it, you can make a type that fits for all and people can see your work in action. 

People can see your work in action at “Voices in Thread” in Rancho Cordova. Help us visualize what the experience is like. 

One of the Community Quilts on display at the “Voices in Thread” exhibit. Featuring patches made by students in workshops put on by the Social Justice Sewing Academy.Courtesy of the Mill Station Arts & Culture Center

You walk in and there's artists’ labels on the wall, and quilts hanging made from kids [in] elementary school to adults, to community workshops, to community members making art in libraries. I think it addresses current events. 

There's a quote from Arundhati Roy that says, “there's no such thing as the voiceless, only the deliberately silenced or the preferably unheard.” I think if you really wanted to sum up the experience, it’s an exhibit of art made from young people that are often ignored or deliberately silenced. Young people in high school, young people without college degrees, young people that haven't become professors or written books. 

I think we create these workshops, and we have these spaces where everyone can make art  whether it's promoting foster care, promoting pro-choice or promoting school dress codes being unfair to women. Sometimes it's the narrative, sometimes it's the point of view, sometimes it's the policy issue, sometimes it's just promoting love. 

I've had young kids talk about sexual assault they've experienced in their family. They make a block about, “ believe women.” It's bigger than just laws. I think sometimes people think social justice is only policy-related, and sometimes it's really just about your personal experience and expressing it through art. 

You can listen to the full conversation, as well as hear from MACC Art Director and Curator Cheryl Gleason, here.