More musings on things from my diaries
Crip Quilt by Jamila Prowse
Artwork
Diaries:
13 March 2024

Crip Quilt by Jamila Prowse – Photo by Matt Denham
I came across Crip Quilt by Jamila Prowse when it was exhibited as part of the Bordered Belongings exhibition at The NewBridge Project, and I think about it often. And the more that I think about it, the more I appreciate the many layers within the work.
Crip Quilt is a large (roughly 2 x 3m) textile quilt made of fifty patches. It addresses being an artist with disability. Prowse made the quilt over fifteen months, predominantly when she was ill and had to stay in bed. She transcribed oral histories included in the National Disability Art Collection and Archive onto twenty-five of the patches. Wanting to address the lack of artists of colour represented within the Archive, Prowse gathered three new oral histories from underrepresented artists and introduced these into the work. The remaining patches are based on Prowse’s lived experience.
The quilt is colourful and bright, with cartoon-like imagery. The imperfections in patch shapes and size give a joyful sense to the work. Images, thoughts, reflections and statements are stitched (mainly in capital letters) in multicoloured thread onto a variety of colours. Prowse’s own patches are diary entries and include books that she was reading while she was bed-bound. There is diversity but an inherent similarity in the accumulation of many different voices united by disability. Reading the interpretation, I discovered that the blanket is weighted. Weighted blankets are used as a means of comforting neurodiverse people who experience anxiety and autistic burnout. Hence the artwork becomes a form of alternative medicine. Prowse comments that the process of making the quilt was a therapeutic act.

Crip Quilt by Jamila Prowse – Photo by Matt Denham
Shown in the gallery next to the quilt was a film featuring detailed moving images of the quilt and footage of the patches being stitched. The voice of poet, Eve Estandiari-Denney is heard describing the work and the story behind the making of the work. A gentle soundscape can be heard in the background. This film is now available online, opening a way to experience the artwork remotely. Far from it being an afterthought, the film is an excellent example of how access adjustments can be addressed creatively.