Quilt Presentation Celebrates Diversity and Creativity
At the 2025 Northern Illinois Annual Conference, the NIC Anti-Racism Task Force unveiled the Arts & Culture Quilt—a powerful symbol of unity, justice, and cultural pride.…
NIC Arts & Culture Quilt Project
The NIC Anti-Racism Task Force presented an Arts and Culture Series to explore the unique art forms of different ethnicities. Quilts have played a significant role in American history and culture for centuries. Quilts are as unique as the people who create them.
As we journeyed together throughout the year to embrace the rich diversity of music, art, and history, the ARTF Series team invited participants to help in the making of an NIC Arts & Culture Quilt.
The submitters completed individual quilt individual blocks. The submissions came from NIC individuals, churches and organizations. The squares represent their culture, community, history, or art.
Individual squares were assembled into a final quilt by Ida VanBoven, a volunteer quilting coordinator from First UMC in Elmhurst. She added sashing, borders, binding, and a hanging pocket to the back.
The completed quilt will be hung in the Northern Illinois Conference Office and shared at the 2025 Annual Conference.
A booklet was created to accompany the quilt. In addition photos of each square, it provides the information about the quilters and the statement they provided about the square they created.
Download the Quilt Project Booklet
Watch the Annual Conference Presentation