U.S. at 250 Community Quilt

The community quilt "Belonging, Trust, Empathy, and Love" was created through a collaboration among the University of Michigan's U.S. at 250 initiative, artist and community technologist Mother Cyborg, and the University of Michigan Arts Initiative. Developed as part of U-M's engagement with the 250th anniversary of the United States, the project invited students, faculty, staff , and community members to reflect on the nation's histories, present challenges, and possible futures through collaborative artmaking. 

During a participatory quilt-making workshop facilitated by Mother Cyborg, participants created quilt blocks expressing their hopes for the next fifty years. The completed quilt brings these individual contributions together into a shared artwork that documents personal aspirations while reflecting the conversations and relationships formed through making together.

Artist: Mother Cyborg

Mother Cyborg, Artist and Community Technologist Diana Nucera, is a Detroit-based artist, musician, educator, community technologist, and quilter. Her work draws on more than a decade of community organizing in Detroit, where she has developed tools, training programs, and organizing models focused on digital justice and community-owned technology. Using fabric, pattern, and participatory processes, she creates quilts that document collaboration, care, and collective imagination. These works serve as records of people coming together to learn, make, and envision futures shaped by interdependence rather than isolation

Learn more about the artist