Dozens of women from across the country have come together for International Women’s Day to create a crocheted 20-foot by 40-foot mural of Vice President Kamala Harris, depicted the iconic “I’m speaking” moment during the vice presidential debate with former VP Mike Pence.
The piece was conceptualized by LA artist London Kaye for her Love Across the USA public art project. She was inspired by the jacket VP Harris wore at San Francisco Pride in 2019 and recruited 150 knitters across the country who were each assigned a 24-inch by 24-inch square to knit with materials they had at home.
“From there the pattern was created,” said Kaye. “Every participant was encouraged to use yarn from their stash at home. They kindly shared with me photos of yarn colors that matched the color patellate of sketch and I assigned pieces from there.”
The piece is on display at The Wharf in Southwest D.C., outside the restaurant Officina on Maine Avenue, until Memorial Day when it will be moved to a permanent location.
The mural of Vice President Harris is the 7th from the Love Across the USA project. Previous pieces include famous trailblazers Sojourner Truth, Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, Nina Simone, Marion Anderson, Susan B. Anthony and Harriet Tubman.
As Ms. Magazine reports: “Crocheters from as far as California and Louisiana came to participate in the installation. Gutsy Media/Wake Up & Vote, a social impact content studio, having produced 500+ short digital films for the 2020 election, had partnered with Kaye and filmmaker, Jonna McKone, to document the process. Collecting video diaries from participants across the country, they joined the crochet team over two days of filming in D.C. as the group stitched the panels together and installed the mural. The short digital film have been shared online by various national women’s organizations as a celebration of Women’s History Month.”
One of Vice President Harris’ priorities is enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. Take action now at http://erayes2021.org and share your ERA story, send a letter to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her leadership on the ERA, or access our social media toolkit to share your support for the ERA.
