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Location
Worcester, MA
Project Title
Stitching Memory along the Blackstone River Valley
Fiscal Year Awarded
2026
Grant or Program
Public Art for Spatial Justice
Grant Amount
$30,000
Stitching Memory along the Blackstone River Valley is a two-year community-engaged public art project restoring Indigenous and Black histories to landscapes along the Blackstone River Valley. Led by Black and Nipmuc artist, storyteller, and genealogist Cheryll Toney Holley, the project places handmade “story portals” in tribal lands and public spaces, inviting visitors to encounter the layered histories embedded in the river corridor.
Created with plant fibers and herbal-dyed cloth, each portal includes a QR code linking to a brief story connected to that place—ancestral voices, family histories, plant knowledge, or community memory. Visitors can also use the QR code to contribute their own reflections and stories, allowing the archive to grow over time. Together, the portals and digital stories form a living record along the Blackstone, reclaiming public space for remembrance, relationship, and truth.