OUR QUEBEC QUILT:
For a close-knit community
With the support of:
Intended for early high school students (Section 1 & 2), Our Quebec Quilt is a project that brings together traditional crafting skills and creative writing to empower young people to express themselves creatively and think more deeply about the lifespan of the materials that surround them in their every day lives.
In 2 workshops of 2 hours each, cultural mediators Raquel Rivera and Chantal Ringuet will prompt students to reflect on themes surrounding the symbol of the quilt, lead students in the composition of a short creative text and support them in the design of a collective quilt made of used textiles. The student-designed quilt will then be sewn together by Women Weaving Their Dreams, a newcomer women’s collective at the Montreal City Mission.
At the end of this project, students will have:
– Learned about the quilting as a traditional craft in Quebec, and about how to quilt can be a tool for self-expression, as well as a heritage object that connects the generations.
– Explored themes evoked by quilt in class discussions, including but not limited to: intergenerationality and care, upcycling and the repurposing of used textiles, the quilt as a symbol for a beautiful and diverse society, etc.
– Composed a short creative text in English reflecting on the project themes.
– Designed a collective quilt out of used textiles, where each student’s square contributes to the beauty of the whole.
PROJECT PARTNERS AND COLLABORATORS
RAQUEL RIVERA
Raquel Rivera is the author of fiction and creative non-fiction books for children and young adults. Her books have won the QWF Prize for Children’s and YA Literature, twice; they’ve been nominated for the Red Cedar Book Award, Silver Birch Forest of Reading Award and the Rocky Mountain Book Award, and were selected for CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens (starred selection), USBBY Outstanding International Books (Grades 3-5), Quill & Quire’s “Best of 2007” (Children’s), and more. Her upcoming picture book is slated for release by Groundwood Books.
Raquel has lived and worked in Washington DC, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Barcelona and Toronto (where she was born and raised as a first-generation Canadian).
Based in Montreal since 1999, Raquel works as a writer, teaching-artist, and performer, while leading workshops and mentorships for children, youth and adults.
Visit her website at www.raquelriverawashere.com
CHANTAL RINGUET
Chantal Ringuet is a writer, poet, and literary translator whose work lies at the intersections of literature, cultural archives, and research-creation. Through writing, she explores cities and landscapes, languages and archives, following the sensitive traces of lived histories. Her work has received several literary distinctions.
Trained in literature (Ph.D.) and philosophy, she has devoted a significant part of her research to women’s voices, Jewish culture, Yiddish, and diasporic archives. Following a doctoral dissertation in literary studies on issues of filiation in the novels of Quebec writers Anne Hébert, Madeleine Gagnon, and Suzanne Jacob, she developed an interdisciplinary approach in literary and cultural studies, engaging with the works of Rachel Korn, Kadia Molodowsky, Adrienne Rich, Marc Chagall, and Leonard Cohen, as well as with urban landscapes where communities, languages, and narratives intersect. Her essays and creative projects explore how language can reveal the invisible strata of cultural and historical experience and translate the passages between languages, cultures, and memories.
As a poet, she is the author of four collections, including Forêt en chambre (Éditions du Noroît, 2022) and Sans toi, jusqu’à la cime des arbres (L’ail des ours, 2025). She also developed, in collaboration with the Université de Montréal and the Société de transport de Montréal, the research-creation project Montreal, City of Women, which revisits the cartography of the Montreal metro through the trajectories of influential women and examines how cities narrate themselves through absent or marginalized voices.
At the heart of her work lies a sustained attention to the power of language and to sensitive forms of transmission. In her practice, thread and fabric become extensions of the text, revealing the gestures through which stories are transmitted.
She was born in Quebec City and after spending much of her life in Montreal, she now lives in the Eastern Townships, where she serves as the Quebec Writers’ Federation representative for the region.
To explore Chantal’s ongoing textile project, ATELIER TRAME, visit: www.chantalringuet.com/en/projects/atelier-trame
WOMEN WEAVING THEIR DREAMS
A part of the Maa’n/Together interfaith community program at Montreal City Mission, Women Weaving Their Dreams is a collective that supports newcomer women to integrate more successfully into their new communities by placing an emphasis on building language skills, strengthening self-confidence, fostering a sense of belonging, and maintaining a positive attitude. The focus of the project has moved towards job training, and exploring volunteer and employment opportunities that offer the women concrete ways to contribute to their communities.
To learn more : https://www.montrealcitymission.org/maa-n-together
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
ST GEORGE’S SCHOOL OF MONTREAL
St. George’s has been at the forefront of progressive educational research and practice since 1930. While our Founding Principles continue to guide us, their meanings and application are always evolving, particularly as we gain a deeper understanding of child development and the neuroscience of learning.
CHATEAUGUAY VALLEY REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Our vision is to provide a safe and caring environment, enriching programs, and engaging instruction. Every student is encouraged to achieve his or her academic potential and to develop the knowledge, skills, and values that lead to personal fulfillment and good citizenship.
Our mission is to provide opportunities which focus on the development of each student’s academic, physical, social and emotional wellbeing, incorporating values such as social justice, environmental responsibility, technological competency and community citizenship. We strive to empower each student to be able to participate in a global democratic society with courage, conviction and integrity.
