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Institute for the Study of Global Racial Justice

Quilting Water Public Arts Project

Patrick Rosal on Quilting Water

Patrick Rosal on Quilting Water

Quilting Water Public Arts Project

Quilting Water is an international public art initiative that gathers interviews about water primarily from racialized communities from the U.S. and around the world. The interview is built upon five simple questions about an individual’s memories, observations, and dreams/wishes around water—simply, our past, present, and future. We’re honored to work with local Camden Black artists who will construct quilts inspired by the Quilting Water archive and serve as guides throughout the project. We hope the archive and quilts will allow us to see relationships between disparate communities and their stories through water.

Water as Witness: The Significance of Water in our Shared Histories

Read Quilting Water Associate Artist Cherita Harrell's reflections on this Signature Project

Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA) | "Art as Resistance: Transcultural Expressions"

With generous support from the ISGRJ, the Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA) in collaboration with Africana Studies at Rutgers University in Camden hosted its 6th international conference, "Art as Resistance: Transcultural Expressions" from February 23-25, 2023. Building on the success of last year’s speaker series and conference, “All Black Lives Matter: Black Germany and Beyond,” this year’s 3-day, virtual symposium reflected the increasingly expanding vision of the BGHRA and sought to illuminate Black diasporic histories, artistry, and resistance in Europe and other neglected spaces, not just Germany. 

Watch the powerful panel from the conference on the Quilting Water Project featuring Cherita Harrell, Jacob Camacho, and moderated by Rosemarie Peña, BGHRA President.

BGHRA-2023-flyer FINAL

Patrick Rosal Delivers a Scarlet Scholars Lecture

Patrick Rosal, codirector of ISGRJ at Rutgers–Camden, reads his poetry and discusses his Directors' Signature Research Project, Quilting Water, as a public arts initiative.

Patrick Rosal delivering lecture

Scarlet Scholars Lecture: “Race, Climate, and the Communal Imagination"

Quilts by Renata Merrill, Lead Artist for Quilting Water

"Little Sprite," a sample of previous quilting work by Renata Merrill, lead artist for Quilting Water

A detail from "Hey Girl," previous quilting work by Renata Merrill, lead artist for Quilting Water

A detail from "Sweet Dreams," previous quilting work by Renata Merrill, lead artist for Quilting Water