Marie Watt (2017): Block Museum - Northwestern University
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Marie Watt (2017)

In conjunction with the 2017 exhibition If You Remember, I'll Remember, Seneca artist Marie Watt hosted “sewing circles” at The Block, to bring people together in conversation and making. Over 140 community members joined us for hands-on participation in one of Watt’s projects while also taking part in conversation on the theme of equity.

Later that spring, Watt presented an artwork at The Block made from pieces generated during these sewing circles.

Block Museum Equity Sewing Circle with artist Marie Watt from Block Museum on Vimeo.

Marie Watt's Companion Species: Ferocious Mother and Canis Familiaris from Block Museum on Vimeo.

About Marie Watt

Marie Watt (b. 1967) is an American artist. Her work draws from history, biography, protofeminism, and Indigenous principles, and addresses the interaction of the arc of history with the intimacy of memory. She uses materials that are conceptually attached to narrative: in particular, exploring the stories connected with commonplace woolen blankets, cedar, and iron.

Events with Marie Watt

Equity Sewing Circle with Artist Marie Watt

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Blankets, one of the primary materials used by Seneca artist Marie Watt, are everyday objects that can carry extraordinary histories. Many of Watt’s larger blanket works are made in community, notably in “sewing circles,” to bring people together in conversation and making. Over 140 community members joined us for hands-on participation in one of Watt’s projects while also taking part in conversation on the theme of equity. Partners included Northwestern’s Native American and Indigenous Peoples Steering Group, NAISA, CINAS, Multicultural Student Affairs, and the office of Neighborhood and Community Relations. 

Installation Unveiling: Marie Watt: Sewing Community

Thursday, April 20, 2017

In Winter 2017, community members from Northwestern, Evanston, and beyond joined together with artist Marie Watt to lend their hands to sewing circles, embroidering words of equity, maternity, and empowerment. These stitches and conversations became part of a new work for the exhibition “If You Remember, I’ll Remember.” Community members joined us for the unveiling of this project and spoke with Watt about her community-based and participatory practice.