Photographer: Evan LeonardWritten, stitched, and painted onto red fabric, Monument Quilt stories are displayed in city and town centers to create and demand public space to heal. Over 1,000 squares were displayed, filling the football stadium.

The Ohio University community gathered throughout the day at Peden Stadium on Friday, October 13, 2017 for a viewing of the Monument Quilt.

The Monument Quilt is an on-going collection of stories from sexual assault victims and is a public healing space for survivors of rape and abuse. Written, stitched, and painted onto red fabric, the stories are displayed in city and town centers to create and demand public space to heal. Over 1,000 squares were displayed, filling the football stadium.

OHIO was the first university in the country to display the full quilt in the football stadium. This display was sponsored by the Women’s Center; Multicultural Center; LGBT Center; BSCPB; Center for Law, Justice & Culture; Diversity Studies Certificate; Division of Student Affairs; Department of Social and Public Health; Department of Psychology; Political Science; United Campus Ministries; Cutler Scholars Program; Honors Tutorial College; Multicultural Faculty In-Residence; Ohio Athletics; Ambassadors to the Survivor Advocacy Program; College of Fine Arts; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and the Between Love and Hate Theme within College of Arts & Science.

The quilt is part of an effort to have ongoing, year-long conversations about sexual assault and prevention at Ohio University, culminating with Take Back the Night on Thursday, April 5, 2018.

Click here to view video footage that showcases the OHIO community’s efforts.