Timeline — The Cincinnati Quilt Project

The Project In Context

The Cincinnati Quilt Project took place from Summer 2019 through Spring of 2020. Because of the global pandemic of COVID-19, the nature of the project reacted and adapted to the changing times. The original intention of my capstone was to get in a room with a member of the Cincinnati community and have a personal and intimate experience. I wanted to sit next to someone and teach them how to sew while listening to them tell me stories of their life and experiences. This personal interaction is a continuation of the generations-long tradition of quilting, where the skill would be passed down between women in close knit communities. The project is just another piece in the incredible oral tradition of a beautiful art form.

I have decided to add this page to the project to portray the changing dynamics and manifestations of community during a global emergency. I listed the interviews in chronological order and included milestones of Ohio’s reaction to COVID-19. On this page you can see how community interactions changed over time. See when people stopped meeting in person. Visit the interview pages and read how the prevalence of the virus grew over time, creeping its way into unrelated conversations more and more frequently.

An emergency this large will invariably affect every part of our human experiences. This project gives us a unique opportunity to track how the virus affects communities over time.