Two local quilt clubs held an opening reception for their new exhibit at Woodland Cultural Centre on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
The exhibit, entitled “You Are Not Forgotten,” is a collaboration developed through an ongoing relationship between the Six Nations Piecemakers Quilt Club and the Grand River Quilt Project.
“You Are Not Forgotten” brings together two bodies of work, Quilts for Survivors created by the Six Nations Piecemakers Quilt Club, and the Grand River Quilt Project. Together, these works explore themes of remembrance, connection, storytelling, and place through textile art.
Grand River Quilt Project and Six Nations Piecemakers Quilt Club began their collaboration four years ago, when the Piecemakers introduced their Quilts for Survivors initiative during one of the Grand River Quilt Project’s workshops, laying the groundwork for the joint exhibition.
The reception included speakers sharing stories and poems about residential school survivors and wrapped up with a performance based on a conversation between two students and their own individual experiences while at residential schools.
Grand River Quilt Project, which was started by Patrica Flood four years ago, is a community-based initiative inspired by the Grand River and the people who live along its banks.
Sharon Gashgarian, a long-time seamstress, gravitated towards the initiative and has been with it since its inception.
“Fabric has always been my life, ever since I was about ten-years-old, so it just seemed like a good idea at the time,” said Gashgarian.
The exhibit, which runs until the middle of August, includes 17 pieces from the Quilts for Survivors, with one notable exception.
“I wanted to bring the Quilt of Belonging, which is a 120-foot, 263-block quilt here, but it just didn’t work out logistically. The timing and how much money I would have had to raise, I just wasn’t able to make it happen,” said Gashgarian.
