Sowing Quilts in Diaspora: Octavia Butler and Tikkun Olam

Chicagoland Jewess’ Quilts Honor Science-Fiction Author Octavia Butler at Buddy, Chicago Cultural Center The Jewish Museum of Chicago, in partnership with Buddy, is pleased to announce Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy as the recipient of the 2024 Artist Fellowship. Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy’s solo exhibition Sowing Quilts in Diaspora: Octavia Butler and Tikkun Olam will be on view at Buddy, Chicago Cultural Center from September 6- October 6, 2024, Monday-Sunday 11am-5pm Opening reception September 15 - 12pm-4pm. Public program with free community art experience September 27 – 12pm-4pm. “Octavia Butler’s themes of thriving diasporas, communal wealth and housing, and co- existence with wildlife are prophetic,” says the artist. Cynamon-Murphy designed The Earthseed quilt series to honor the work of Octavia Butler. The quilts are sewn with hand- written transcriptions of the verses from her books Parable of the Sower and Parable of Talents tucked into the quilt piecing. The quilts use upcycled and traditional textiles. The Earthseed quilts include 6 panels, the first of which is an 8-foot textural portrait of the author (see image above). Other panels provide metaphoric descriptions of elements from Butler’s novels. About The Artist Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy is a fat-lady queer Jewish artist in Wheaton, IL, who makes quilts, tends the hearth, and mends the world in equal measures. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s in English and Secondary Education from Illinois Wesleyan University. A member of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, she is self-taught in design & construction and her textile art tends toward themes of body liberation, racial reconciliation, and mental health. Learn more at LilithQuilts.com Jewish Museum of Chicago Founded by a coalition of Jewish artists and educators, the Jewish Museum of Chicago is a community-run museum crafting accessible multi-faith and multigenerational entry points to diasporic storytelling, organizing, and cultural art practices. The Jewish Museum of Chicago strives to honor the collective joy, beauty, and longevity of Judaism’s lineage in addition to our collective trauma. Buddy Buddy is a store in the Chicago Cultural Center in downtown Chicago with the mission of supporting and showcasing local artists, makers, and small businesses. Its nearly 2500 square foot retail space features 300+ artists at any moment including prints, photos, art objects, functional art, textile, publications, music, jewelry, care products, toys and much more. The space also features annual programs, including a rotating Art 4 Sale exhibition series, rotating Randolph St. display window installations, and monthly in-store events. Buddy is a program of Public Media Institute, a Bridgeport-based non-profit that has been supporting Chicago artists for over 30 years. [email protected] for artist requests and interviews. [email protected] for press inquiries and purchases.

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