Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project + Give Me Life: CPA Prison Arts Program

Stitching Time features 12 quilts created by men who are incarcerated in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison.

Give Me Life is a selection of works from women artists presently or formerly incarcerated at York Correctional Institution, a maximum security state prison in Niantic, Conn., courtesy of Community Partners in Action (CPA).

About

The Stitching Time works of art, and accompanying recorded interviews, tell the story of a unique inside-outside quilt collaboration. The exhibition focuses our attention on the quilt creators, people often forgotten by society when discussing the history of the U.S. criminal justice system.

Also on view in the gallery will be Give Me Life, the CPA’s Prison Arts Program was initiated in 1978 and is one of the longest-running projects of its kind in the United States. Founded in 1875, CPA is celebrating 150 years of working within the criminal justice system.

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Date

September 12-December 13, 2025

Location

Fairfield University Art Museum
Walsh Gallery

Exhibition Details

Faculty Liaison: Don Sawyer, PhD (VP of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging)

Quilt with several multi-colored squarish segments. Colored rectangles spiral inward within each square segment. Four stylized portraits of a man occupy four of the squarish segments.

Kenya Baleech Alkebu (quilt design) Maureen Kelleher (quilting) Red, White and Baldwin, 2016 Mixed cotton blends and acrylic paint 90 x 90 inches Lent by Maureen Kelleher, © Maureen Kelleher

Quilt over a grey background. The quilt features several brightly colored squares and rectangles over a black base

Kenya Baleech Alkebu (quilt design) Maureen Kelleher (quilting) Black Windows, 2015 Mixed cotton blends 116 x 70 inches Lent by Maureen Kelleher, © Maureen Kelleher

Quilit over a grey background. A black shirt with text saying "I can't breathe" is patched into the center of the artwork between abstract shapes and letters

Kenny “Zulu” Whitmore, Ramsey Orta, and Maureen Kelleher (quilt design) Maureen Kelleher (quilting) I Can’t Breathe. Eric Garner, 2018 Mixe cotton blends 63 x 46 inches Lent by Maureen Kelleher, © Maureen Kelleher

Virtual Gallery Talk: Maureen Kelleher

This gallery talk is presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project" (on view in the Museum's Walsh Gallery through December 13, 2025). Maureen Kelleher founded The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project with Kenya Baleech Alkebu, in 2012 to teach the world about the prison hospice program at Angola Prison, to create a bridge for communication and support between inside quilters and free quilters, to give voice to the quilters’ creativity, political consciousness, and more.

Kelleher is an artist, activist, and private investigator, who became interested in prisoners’ rights, and has since worked on numerous capital crimes and felony cases.

Connecticut Network (CT-N) - State Government and Public Affairs

Artist Lizzy Rockwell discusses this community quilt she produced in conjunction with Fairfield University students and community members during the "Stitching Time" exhibition.
The New York Times

As the Nation’s Birthday Approaches, Museums Lead the Way (By Alina Tugend, Published Oct. 15, 2025 in The New York Times)
ArtDaily News

"Fairfield University Art Museum announces exhibitions to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the U.S."

Schedule of Events

Events listed below with a location are live, in-person programs. When possible, those events will also be streamed and the recordings posted to our YouTube channel.

More events will be listed as the exhibition approaches - please check our Eventbrite site to register.

Opening Night Lecture: Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project and Give Me Life: CPA Prison Arts Program

Thursday, September 11, 5:30 p.m.

Jeffrey Greene, CT Prison Art Project
Dolan Event Space and streaming

Jeffrey Greene, Program Manager of Community Partners in Action’s Prison Art Project, will deliver the opening night talk.

The title Give Me Life comes from this quote from Prison Art Project alumni Renee Peterson: “White. Or Grey. Boring. Depressing. Very cold, all the time. It was awful. Small. It made me feel small sometimes. But, art makes me feel like a big person again. It gave me life.”

Reception: Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project and Give Me Life: CPA Prison Arts Program

Thursday, September 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Dolan Event Space and Walsh Gallery

Community Quilting

Thursday, October 16, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Contribute a square to our community quilt project during a workshop led by local artist Lizzy Rockwell.

Walsh Gallery and Quick Center for the Arts Lobby

All supplies will be provided.

Virtual Gallery Talk: Maureen Kelleher, co-founder of The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project

Wednesday, November 12, 5-6 p.m.

Online

Family Day: Making Meaning with Quilts

Saturday, November 15, 12:30-2 p.m. and 2:30-4 p.m. (two sessions)

Quick Center Lobby
Registration required; ages 4-10

Quilting Bee Demo with Peace by Piece: The Norwalk Community Quilt Project

Saturday, December 6, 2-4 p.m.

Walsh Gallery and Quick Center for the Arts Lobby

Additional Information

Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Thursday until 8 p.m.

We are closed for national and university holidays and during inclement weather.

For GPS please use the following address:

200 Barlow Road, Fairfield, CT, 06824.

Bellarmine Hall Galleries

Free parking is available in front of Bellarmine Hall; handicap parking is available next to the service and classroom entrance on the lower level of Bellarmine Hall.

Quick Center

Free parking is available at the lot in front of the Quick Center, including handicap parking. Museum visitors may park in any available spot that is not marked reserved, handicap accessible only, or for service vehicles.

The museum is open to the public and admission is free.

Private tours with a curator are available for a fee; please contact museum@fairfield.edu or (203) 254-4046.

Take Metro-North, New Haven Line, to Fairfield Station.
Approximately 70 minutes from Grand Central Station.

www.mta.info/mnr

(800) 638-7646

Contact Us

Fairfield University
Art Museum
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824

(203) 254-4046
museum@fairfield.edu

Fairfield University Museum logo
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824

(203) 254-4046

Plan Your Visit

Enjoy free admission every day—no reservations required.

Before you arrive, be sure to check current hours for the Bellarmine Hall and Walsh Galleries to make the most of your visit.

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Stitching Time: The Social Justice Collaboration Quilts Project + Give Me Life: CPA Prison Arts Program

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