Stitching Stories Reimagined is a retelling of Stitching Stories: A Prison Awareness Quilt that was crocheted at the minimum-security Canary Unit of the North Carolina Corrections Institution for Women by members of the H.A.T.S. (Handcrafted and Totally Special) group during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 25-foot quilt they created was completed just before Mother’s Day 2021.

In 2023, Arise Collective was awarded a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds and Mellon Foundations to bring the original quilt to life as a 30-foot-long inclusive public art project. Designed for travel and permanent installation, this public art piece recreates the quilt’s stories using a mosaic wall, an opposing mirror wall, and a vinyl wrap.

Each square in the mosaic reflects one year of time served, highlighted with ribbons representing each woman’s struggles with addiction, domestic violence, sexual assault, mental health, COVID-19, children left behind, and the death of a loved one.

After its unveiling at Benevolence Farm in Alamance County in October 2025, the exhibit continued its journey across North Carolina, visiting The Caraway Foundation in Anson County that December, the High Point Public Library in January 2026, and the Ministry of Hope in Black Mountain in February.

Now, the art house has found its home at Dix Park, where you are invited to experience the stories it holds. Learn more about the art by visiting stitching-stories.org.