Since 2006, more than 140 people have been killed by the Chicago Police or while in police custody. Gone But Not Forgotten is a community quilting project, documenting the names and lives of these individuals. Over the last year, more than 150 individuals have participated in combination quilting circles/peace circles across Chicago.  In partnership with grassroots groups, religious organizations, art spaces and schools, we are sewing together the memories of those lost to police violence, while discussing questions of transformative justice, police accountability, and community safety.

Now we need your help to complete the Gone But Not Forgotten quilt and display it in a multi-media art installation this fall. Please consider a gift to support this project!

What We Need

The initial materials for the quilt and the 2015 quilting circles were funded by a $5,000 grant from the Chicago Department of Art and Special Events, but we need your help to bring this project to completion!

We need a minimum of $7,000 to be able to finish the 30 foot quilt and mount an exhibition featuring the quilt, process photos, and a video installation with interviews with the friends and families of some of the victims.

Your donations will help pay for:

• A full color publication that will accompany the exhibit, featuring process photos and quotes from participants in the quilting circles; an examination of the research and data involved in uncovering the names in the quilt; selected stories of the victims included in the project; and a complete list of all of the victims.

• A zine, created in partnership with the For The People Artist Collective, which will provide a background of the Movement for Black Lives in Chicago and ways that visitors to the exhibit can take action to end police violence.

• Graphic design and publicity materials for the exhibition.
• The labor needed to complete the quilt and create the video installation. This project has been made possible by hundreds of volunteer hours over the last year, from myself, circle keepers, teaching artists, partner organizations, and photographers. In order to create the best possible exhibition, we’re hoping to pay myself, the creator of the video installation, and a project assistant for at least some of the final work to complete the project.

This exhibit will happen regardless of whether or not we reach our goals through this campaign. We have applied for grants, received support from the universities where we work and study, and drawn on the talents and generosity of dozens of artists and activists from around the city in order to bring the project this far. Your donation will allow Gone But Not Forgotten to be exhibited with the care, attention to detail, and support that this urgent issue deserves.