DESIGNER PROFILE
We talk to Sara Trail, founder of SJSA, the Social Justice Sewing Academy, on a mission to piece together youth voices, textile art and community in a 21st century sewing circle
Meet Sara Trail, founder of the Social Justice Sewing Academy on piecing together youth voices, textile art and community in a 21st century sewing circle
You learned to sew at only four years old. Were you taught by family? What’s your earliest sewing memory?
The earliest memory I have of sewing is watching my grandmother and mother at the sewing machine. My Aunt Emory was a prolific hand quilter, and I was always in awe watching her work. I wanted to be involved but I was only four years old at the time and my grandmother was worried I would get hurt by putting my hand underneath the needle. After some time spent convincing my grandmother, I received my first sewing lesson from my mum (on her lap, guiding the fabric underneath) and what started as a few stitches turned into a quilt for my doll.
What first made you decide to mix sewing and social justice?
The moment that sparked the union between sewing and social justice was when Trayvon Martin was murdered. I identified with him. We were the same age, only a month apart in age. That could have been me, a black teen walking down the street of my middle class neighbourhood. I realised in that moment how easy it is to target black kids as out of place. I was confused, hurt and enraged and needed a cathartic outlet. I started discussing his murder in my sewing circles which mainly consisted of affluent people. There seemed to be very little interest in Trayvon’s life or death. Unable to discuss my emotions with those around me I turned to my craft, quilting. I decided to attempt my first art quilt as a tribute to this teenager’s life. It is from my experiences both negative and positive surrounding the creation and display of this quilt that SJSA was created.
What inspired the specific focus on quilts, rather than other types of sewing projects?
My focus on quilts came from my experience with my Trayvon Martin quilt. I wanted to be able to have a canvas large enough to create a remembrance portrait. Once
I had completed this art quilt, I entered it in shows just like I had done previously. Up until that point, my work was loved and accepted by the sewing world but the reaction to Trayvon was different. My art was denied. He was denied.
For 13 years, I quilted the same traditional patterns and followed industry standard, spending thousands of hours refining my craft in the company of quilting mentors. However, in these privileged spaces I began to realise that conversations of social justice were deafeningly absent. I decided to use textiles as a medium to give young people
a chance to be activists and display their art in non-traditional spaces.
Can you tell our readers a little about the Social Justice Sewing Academy and what it does?
Founded in 2017, the SJSA is a youth education program that bridges artistic expression with activism to advocate for social justice.
Through a series of hands-on workshops in schools, prisons and community centres across America, SJSA empowers youth to use textile art as a vehicle for personal transformation and community cohesion and become agents of social change. This visual dialogue bridges differences in race, age and socio-economics and sparks conversations and action in households across the country.
Many of our young artists make art that explores issues such as gender discrimination, mass incarceration, gun violence and gentrification. The powerful imagery they create in cloth tells their stories, and these quilt blocks are then sent to volunteers around the world to embellish and embroider, before being sewn together into quilts to be displayed in museums, galleries and quilt shows across the country.
Why is it so important to you to support younger generations?
Youth are on a journey to find out their talents, passions and purpose. Our free workshops introduce textile art instruction as a means of expression, helping youth learn about and comment on social justice issues that impact them and their communities. The collaboration of emerging artists with older, seasoned crafters is a powerful
I began to realise that conversations of social justice were deafeningly absent and decided to use textiles as a medium to give youth achance to be activists
combination that helps both generations find common ground and learn from each other.
You’ve achieved so much already, what’s been your highlight?
My greatest accomplishment has been watching SJSA grow and adapt to a changing environment due to
COVID-19. I have led the team in the creation of the Remembrance Quilt Project where volunteers create mini art quilts or blocks for individuals who have lost their lives to acts of violence. We are then sewing them into banners and quilting them. Our end goal is to have over 1,000 banners with two people on each banner, to raise awareness to the many lives stolen through violence.
How has the SJSA grown since its first conception in 2016?
SJSA has grown to have a following of over 16,000 people on Instagram. Most of the women and men who follow our Instagram page are individuals who sew, craft and create their own art. The volunteers who give their time and talent, have been able to support the youth artists through embroidery assistance, inspiration and providing an empathetic heart and ear to youth who crave a deeper understanding of issues they care about.
As a result of all of the wonderful volunteers, Sewing Justice Sewing Academy can design, sew and deliver individual, remembrance art quilts to families who have experienced the murder and loss of a loved one. These quilts are meant to bring some comfort to victims’ families that typically are not receiving the consolation they deserve by our busy disconnected society. Without the explosive growth of the SJSA since our launch, the ability to connect with as many families as we have done would not have been possible.
Last year the SJSA hit national headlines with the unexpected controversy of the ‘Injustice Block’. How did you feel about the reaction to the block?
The negative reaction to the Injustice Block was definitely a surprise. The young male student who designed this block meant for it to be a call to action that any
person would agree with. For many people in America, a change to the status quo of any kind is an affront to their way of thinking.
The Injustice Block peeled back a mask that many quilters wear. It was disheartening to learn that a cry out for justice is offensive to so many. There is certainly lots of work to be done in America and around the world to encourage us all to listen to young people when they speak out about the need for change. This block illuminated how much work is still needed so that those individuals seeking justice are heard and not vilified.
How do you think the wider quilt community can help to combat social injustice?
Quilters are generally very focused and meticulous people. Quilters can approach social justice issues like they do a new, challenging quilt pattern and technique. They can take a slow, careful look at social justice issues without judgment or expectation and explore another point of view in the same way they explore a new sewing technique. We share a love of fabric and sewing and that common denominator can be the beginning of a wonderful relationship with others from different walks of life.
I think that quilt shows should allow youth quilts to be exhibited free of charge (if possible) so that young folks can participate.
What can we expect from you and the SJSA in the near future?
Currently, we are mentoring youth in a virtual programme called the SJSA Business Incubator. With the support of our many kind and generous sponsors and volunteers, we help these youth develop a business and gift them with $1,000 each as a seed grant.
SJSA also has a new thread set produced by Aurifil. It launched in the first week of February 2021 and is called Threads of Diversity! It is a collection of ten spools of 50wt cotton thread in a diverse range of skin tone shades, and a percentage of the profits go to the SJSA.
Our Remembrance Quilt Project is an ongoing art quilt project that memorialises those who have been wrongly killed as a result of officer involved shootings, domestic violence, unsolved crimes, gang crimes, gender-related crimes or any other unjustified killing. These art quilt banners will be made for victims and displayed in museums, community spaces, civic centres and schools to show the need to recognise gun violence problems, policing problems, lack of mental illness healthcare, domestic violence and the terror and rage that transgender people face.
Finally, in autumn 2021, a new book will be out featuring stories of families receiving Quilts of Remembrance and the SJSA community’s making of the Remembrance Project Happen. I hope you all check it out!