The first Knit Democracy Together sculpture was based in Vermont.
Now we’re making the New Hampshire State House. It’s going on display in Concord in June 2024. More info on that here.
In the meantime, you can see and read about the Vermont version below.
A sculpture symbolizing democracy:
• people participating by voting, talking with their representatives, and running for office, symbolized by colorful knitted hands
• a product of individuals from all parts of society coming together, symbolized by building blocks with individual personalities
• an ongoing building process, symbolized by working knitting needles
The first Knit Democracy Together collaborative sculpture is loosely based on the Vermont State House. More than 45 makers at KDT circles knit, crocheted, and stitched the panels for the walls of the capitol building. Dozens more made lawn and garden pieces to form the grounds of the sculpture.
As they stitched, these civically-minded crafters deepened their understanding of the mechanics of democacy. Through a presentation and discussion led by project creator Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, these makers gained knowledge to help them respond to misinformation. They increased their awareness of the ways gerrymandering can distort the representative nature of democacy. They acquired an appreciation for the power of state legislatures to set rules for voting and how those rules might affect access to the ballot box. They discussed proportional representation, the electoral college, and voting reforms.
In September 2022, participants joined artist Eve Jacobs-Carnahan at the Vermont State House to stitch together lawn and garden pieces to surround the knitted state house. During the three months that the sculpture was on display, State House visitors from around the country expressed amazement and admiration for this collaboration.
Click arrows in this slideshow to see the first state capitol sculpture come together:
