Richmond Leader

Stitching community together

University of Richmond alum Chloe Bailey learned to stitch in a costume course held in the Modlin Center for the Arts, a skill which helped her launch her own quilting business this year. Her first major project: a community quilt with handwritten messages from Spiders honoring President Kevin F. Hallock’s inauguration in April.

“I like to connect with people, and a fun way to do that is through the arts,” Bailey said. “Creativity is my space where I feel most free, most relaxed, and people really connect to that.”

Kimberly Dean-Anderson, a member of the inauguration planning committee, saw a quilt Bailey made for a friend using a University of Richmond T-shirt and commissioned her to make a quilt for Hallock’s inauguration.

“We wanted an activity participants could contribute to at the community festival that would demonstrate the diversity of our community and commemorate the inauguration events,” Dean-Anderson said. “It was a big ask to hit all of these points and, thankfully, when I saw the quilt Chloe did for a fellow Spider, I thought, ‘That’s it!’”

The planning committee saw the quilt as a physical, lasting symbol of the University of Richmond coming together to celebrate a new era, Dean-Anderson said.

“Chloe’s inauguration quilt patches together messages of support and inspiration from people throughout the Richmond Web,” President Hallock said. “Tina and I love it! We are so grateful to be welcomed so warmly.”

Bailey presented the quilt to the Hallocks at the end of October. The design features a Richmond jersey in the center with the president’s name, surrounded by handwritten well-wishes from the Spider community. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other friends were encouraged to write notes to the Hallocks for the quilt during the inauguration festival in April.

“I wanted the president to feel supported not just by his professional team, but by the entire UR family,” Bailey said. “I feel very honored that someone saw my art and wanted me to create something for the University of Richmond.”

The quilt is currently on display in Hallock’s office.   

Original source can be found here