“They are designed to amplify the voices of front line groups fighting for the rights of immigrants,” writes New York artist Alexandra Zevin of her appliquéd “Liberty Knows No Borders” banners—in English, Arabic and Spanish—that she made in collaboration with the People’s Puppets of Occupy Wall Street.

They’re part of “Catalyst: Craft + Social Change” at Somerville’s Nave Gallery. The group exhibition is a survey of the front lines of craftivism as we near the end of the year that brought us the iconic pink Pussyhats of the Women’s Marches around the country in January. Organized by Vanessa Marcoux, the show features embroidery, knitting, quilting and weaving addressing immigration, healthcare, homelessness, women’s rights, the justice system, and climate change.

“Catalyst: Craft + Social Change” at Nave Gallery, 155 Powder House Boulevard, Somerville, Mass., Nov. 18 to Dec. 30, 2017.

Alexandra Zevin's “Liberty Knows No Borders” banners. (Greg Cook)
Alexandra Zevin’s “Liberty Knows No Borders” banners. (Greg Cook)
Karen Krolak and Nicole Harris's banners. (Greg Cook)x
Karen Krolak and Nicole Harris’s banners. (Greg Cook)x

Karen Krolak of Boston and Nicole Harris of Somerville stitch textile banners. “re[fuge] #1” by Krolak incorporates a design from the Sanctuary Printshop at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. “re[fuge] #2″by Harris was inspired by one of the postcards created at a “Love Letters from Boston” event.

Celeste Hanlon's "Pharma Series: Vicodin.”
Celeste Hanlon’s “Pharma Series: Vicodin.”

“I’m not judging the pharmaceutical companies’ greed, but showing the importance of these drugs that keep so many infants, children, adults and seniors alive,” writes Celeste Hanlon of North Eastham, Mass. of her embroidered “Pharma Series: Vicodin.” “Some of these drugs can work against us and be addictive and kill us as well.”

Jenna DeLuca’s "What Once Was."
Jenna DeLuca’s “What Once Was.”

Jenna DeLuca’s “What Once Was” is part of her series of acrylic paintings embellished by embroidery that endeavors to address power relationships in American society by reimagining mug shots, forensic photography and other found imagery.

Categories: Art