Marie Watt: Call for Blankets - United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan

PDX is so thrilled to have been able to bring this opportunity to Marie and invites you to participate in the project:

Blanket Stories: Textile Society, R.R. Stewart, Ancient One:

A site-specific installation by Marie Watt for the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, commissioned by the U.S. State Department's Art in Embassies Program. Marie is creating a three-story tall interior sculpture for the embassy's atrium, composed of 400 wool or other natural-fiber blankets collected from the community. The totem-like column will serve as a frame for diverse narratives, including Pakistani, American, Native American, Islamic and others from around the world.

This project is in development, and Marie invites your participation. She needs blankets. Any wool or natural-fiber blanket, quilt, afghan, or blanket-like cloth – in any condition – is welcome. Marie will trade a small limited-edition print in return.

For more information about the project, click here. To find out how to participate, read on.

How to participate in this project
To make Blanket Stories: Textile Society, R.R. Stewart, Ancient One, we need blankets. Any wool or other natural-fiber blanket, quilt, afghan or blanket-like cloth – in any condition – is welcome. Marie will trade a small limited-edition print in return.

Click to request prepaid shipping label and blanket tag

• - Click the link above and you will be sent a blanket tag for your story and a prepaid shipping label to cover the shipping.
  - Ship your blanket and/or story tag to Marie Watt Studio.
  - When your blanket is received and/or story tag, she will send you a limited-edition print as a thank-you.
  
  • Sometimes, people want to contribute but don’t want to give up a beloved blanket. That’s fine, too. The story is the most important thing. You’re welcome to send a proxy blanket—one without a story, or without one related to you—along with your story, or send the story tag and we'll attach it to a proxy.

The deadline for contributions is November 30, 2015. If you have questions, drop us a line at inquiries@mariewattstudio.com

What is a blanket story?
Blankets have become the primary material for Marie Watt’s work. They are objects that easily overlooked, but which have extraordinary histories of use.  Blankets are also personal to Marie; in her tribe (The Seneca Nation), as well as in other Indigenous communities, blankets are given away to those who are witness to important life events. When she works with contributed blankets, she asks the contributor to record the blanket’s story (or their own story, as it relates to the blanket) on a tag. These stories become a part of the work and are archived so that they may be shared.