We are pleased to report the successful completion of Sister Artists 3, our program that links fiber artists from the Global South with art quilters in the Global North.

The embroidered blocks for the project were stitched in the Gulu district of Uganda by ten women who were abducted during their teens by rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a brutal movement that terrorized the north of Uganda for more than a decade. After escaping the women formed an association, Women in Action for Women (WAW) to regain their confidence and learn new skills.

The WAW members can be seen on the next tab. In 2021, with help from our Peace Fellow Anna Braverman, they turned to embroidery and described their ordeal in captivity through a series of graphic scenes. The blocks were assembled into these two magnificent quilts in the US by Anne Watson and Peg Sullivan.

Between 2022 and 2024 the WAW artists made a major commitment to stitching and textile art. Helped by a training visit from Bobbi Fitzsimmons from AP in 2023, they produced blocks describing their experience with COVID and praising African bread. Both sets of blocks were assembled into quilts. The WAW team also made lively embroidery for sale on our online store Southern Stitchers, and ten butterfly designs that formed the basis for a set of tea towels.

Katelyn DiBenedetto from the Zonta Club of Washington at the Textile Museum exhibition. Zonta has supported AP’s quilting work since 2007.

By 2024 the WAW members had become accomplished fiber artists and developed a love of stitching. We commissioned another 70 butterflies from them and distributed the blocks among our quilter friends in the US, Canada and Kenya. Thirty-seven expert quilters responded – including many who had participated in the two earlier Sister Artists competitions – and produced the wonderful quilts that can be seen on the fourth tab.

The 37 quilts were exhibited at the George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum in Washington on May 30-31. Nine quilters attended the dazzling show, which was put up by quilters Anne Watson and Bobbi Fitzsimmons. Click here to see photos of the exhibition and click here for a slideshow, Freedom.

The day after the doors closed on the exhibition, we organized a Zoom meeting for the WAW artists in Uganda and several quilters who had attended the exhibition in Washington. It produced a wonderful virtual exchange between the two groups and helped the Ugandan artists better understand how their artistry was being used.

AP followed up by producing a 77-page catalogue which was sent to quilters and artists and can be found on the next tab. The catalogue is available for purchase at $30.  Email bfitzsimmons@advocacynet. to place an order.  

One of our goals for Sister Artists is to raise funds for the artists in Africa, and between May 27 and June 7 2025 the 37 quilts were auctioned online, raising $6,955. The WAW artists had decided to use profits from the auction to build a tailoring business. Shortly after the auction concluded, Aaron Bailey, an AP Peace Fellow, arrived from the US to provide support (photo below).

Working with Nighty Achieng, the WAW team leader, Aaron helped the WAW artists to develop a budget and project plan. AP transferred the funds for nine sewing machines and Nighty spent the next two months helping her friends to use the new machines.  

Quilter Susan Louis with her quilt ‘Peaceful Butterflies in a Crazy World’ at the Textile Museum

By September, Sister Artists 3 had come full circle. A new North-South partnership had been forged between talented fiber artists in the North and South, and the WAW members had gained experience and confidence.

Most important, their hard work and artistry were yielding concrete benefits. We hope that revenue from the auction will subsidize the tailoring business in Uganda until it can become fully self-sustaining.

A big thanks to all who have made it possible!

For more information: contact bfitzsimmons@advocacynet.org     

Mission accomplished! In July 2025, the WAW artists used money from the Sister Artists 3 auction to purchase sewing machines and launch their tailoring business. Peace Fellow Aaron Bagley (Texas A&M University) helped develop the budget and plan, and assisted with the set-up.

Scroll to the next tab to meet the artists and quilters