Like the AIDS Memorial Quilt project, people from all over the world submit handmade memorial squares and stories about their loved ones to Fugate’s P.O. box. Each memorial square measures 8 inches by 8 inches, which she chose because the number eight is the symbol of infinity. “The physical person might be gone, but their energy lives on forever,” she says. Each panel of the COVID Memorial Quilt holds 25 memorial squares and, when completed, becomes one large 48-inch by 48-inch square. So far, Fugate has constructed 12 panels.
The COVID Memorial Quilt will be displayed publicly as a living memorial so people can come together to grieve and heal. Two panels are already on display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles in a COVID-19-themed exhibit for the next 18 months. More panels will be displayed in Nebraska, Florida, and New York in the late summer and fall.
Fugate has inspired other students. A class at Carver Middle High School in Massachusetts made 29 squares. She spoke with them via Zoom about her process, and now the school has its own panel. The Glen Allen High School National Art Honor Society in Virginia also presented Fugate with more than 35 handmade memorial squares. She plans to continue making panels as long as people continue to send the squares.
Photos of the memorial squares and their stories as well as information about how to submit are posted on her website, covidquilt2020.com.
Madeleine Fugate sews a quilt in her home.
What’s happening at your school? Share your story with us at [email protected].
Madeleine Fugate sews a quilt in her home.
What’s happening at your school? Share your story with us at [email protected].