Join the Arts Council of Princeton’s Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence Ronah Harris for a hands-on workshop on quilting on Sunday, July 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Princeton Public Library first floor exhibit area.

During her residency at the Arts Council, Harris is designing and completing a quilt dedicated to the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. Sewing experience is not required to participate, and registration is not required.

Harris is a textile artist who has created and exhibited her quilts and dolls at area venues. She earned a degree in art and technology at The New School in New York City,  and a Ph.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is the founder of Play Pattern LLC, a digital platform for children, and earned two Daytime Emmys for her work in the children’s television shows Sesame Street and The Electric Company.

The new quilt will complement one that was made in 2005, the centerpiece of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood exhibition, made by local educator and quilter Gail Mitchell. That quilt used over 90 photographs to illustrate the neighborhood and displayed the signatures of neighborhood residents around the quilt’s perimeter. Mitchell’s quilt was on public display through 2022, before being archived to prevent additional fading and wear and tear. Photo documentation of the quilt remains on view in the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts.

The new Witherspoon-Jackson quilt focuses on the neighborhood’s geographical map to complement the original quilt, which mostly featured portraits. Harris plans dedication in August at the annual Joint Effort Safe Streets event, where the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood is celebrated each year. Following the event, the quilt will be on display as part of the Arts Council’s Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood history exhibition.