The Plywood Quilt + Here

West Gallery:
The Plywood Quilt: Community Exhibition and Paint to Express Workshops presented by Memorialize the Movement (MTM)
Curated by Leesa Kelly and Amira McLendon

East Gallery:
Here: In Place ✦ In Mind
2025 Student Creative Showcase
Creative Scholars and Artists: Allison Boettcher ‘25, Eva Ngono ‘25, Sofia Oslë ‘25, Quinn Ramsay ‘26, Emily Rodriguez Sanchez ‘25, Jermya Sims ‘25

Exhibition Dates & Events:        
April 12–May 17, 2025
Opening Reception for both exhibitions & Paint to Express Workshop facilitated by MTM: Saturday, April 12, 5–7 pm
Artist Talk by Students in the Showcase: Thursday, May 8, noon-1:15pm. 

All events are free and open to the public. For ASL interpretation and/or other accommodations, please contact nmwatson@stkate.edu at least one week prior to each event.

In the West Gallery, The Plywood Quilt is activated by Memorialize The Movement (MTM), a Minneapolis organization that collects, preserves, and makes accessible the plywood protest murals created during the Minneapolis Uprising of 2020. In preparation for a forthcoming exhibition of the murals at St. Catherine University in the fall of 2025, The Plywood Quilt highlights MTM’s community-based “Paint to Express” workshops, which are designed to center and be a place of peace for the BIPOC community by uplifting their stories and their art. Leesa Kelly, Executive Director of MTM, and Amira McLendon, Collections Manager for MTM, explain:

"The Plywood Quilt is a tapestry of stories, identities, and lived experiences created by our Twin Cities community. Each 12”x12” plywood panel, created in Paint to Express workshops presented by Memorialize the Movement from 2022–2025, carries its own unique perspective. Yet, when viewed together, the quilt reveals an undeniable truth—our stories, though distinct, are deeply connected."

During the exhibition, visitors are invited to add to the installation by making their own miniature mural.

In the East Gallery, St. Catherine University’s annual exhibition of student creative work is featured in the 2025 Showcase, HERE: In Place ✦ In Mind.

Images:
Left: Community Creates Plywood Quilt Exhibition. University of Minnesota Liberal Arts Engagement Hub. April 2024. Acrylic Paint on plywood board. 12”x12.”
Right: Justice for George: Space as Canvas 2023. Squirrel Haus Arts. May 27th, 2023. Event attendees add their finished plywood paintings to the plywood quilt on day one of Justice for George: Space as Canvas.