Community Voices Leading the Way
- visionquilt
- Jun 20
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 5
Dear Vision Quilt Community,
This spring has been filled with powerful moments of youth creativity and community healing. In Oakland, students from Lodestar and Lighthouse Community Charter Schools created over 130 Vision Quilt panels exploring the root causes of gun violence. They shared their stories through art, powerful statements, and led their own exhibition as docents.
In Portland, Parkrose High School students and Lewis & Clark Art for Social Change members presented Envision a Future Without Gun Violence, sparking meaningful conversations with families and local leaders about healing and hope.
With great respect, we honor George Floyd and his family, who was murdered five years ago on May 25, 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. We know there continues to be an urgent need for justice and systemic change. At Vision Quilt, we continue standing with youth and communities working to build a more peaceful, equitable future.
Thank you for helping amplify their voices and vision.
With gratitude, The Vision Quilt Team
MONTHLY SPOTLIGHT
LODESTAR AND LIGHTHOUSE COMMUNITY CHARTER SCHOOLS IN OAKLAND, CA
We want to extend our heartfelt love and thanks to the incredible staff at Lighthouse and Lodestar Community Charter Schools. From the admin team to the classroom teachers, office staff, support specialists, and the students —every single person played a role in making the Vision Quilt exhibition possible.
We know this work is not always easy. The curriculum is heavy, and the conversations it invites are often challenging. But despite these difficulties, Lighthouse and Lodestar students voiced feeling empowered and grateful to have the opportunity to speak up about such an important topic in their community. Together, students created over 130 powerful Vision Quilt panels, each one a reflection of their courage, creativity, and commitment to change.
A special thank you goes out to the teachers and facilitators who guided students through deep conversations, creative exploration, and the panel-making process with care and dedication.
The exhibition was truly a school-wide effort, and we’re grateful for the way you welcomed us in and supported your students in sharing their voices. Your collaboration made this work not only possible, but powerful!
Thank you for believing in your students and in the power of art to create change!
NEWS & UPDATES
ENVISION A FUTURE WITHOUT GUN VIOLENCE EXHIBITION
We’re proud to spotlight our ongoing exhibition in Portland: “Community-Led Art Exhibition: Envision a Future Without Gun Violence.”
Art Therapy Graduate students and faculty from Lewis and Clark College were trained by Vision Quilt to offer workshops for fellow students, faculty, staff and the community as part of their involvement with the Art For Social Change Collective.
At the same time, Nichole Champion and Orion Rodriquez facilitated first generation college bound seniors from Parkrose High School. The powerful art from both groups are being featured in a dynamic exhibition at the Lewis and Clark Counseling Center until November 21, 2025. Their artwork is a bold call for healing, justice, and change — rooted in personal stories and community care.
The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the impact of gun violence and to imagine bold new solutions led by youth. We are honored to support these visionary voices and the cross-campus collaboration that made this exhibition possible.
THE VISION QUILT DOCUMENTARY HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR THE PORTLAND FILM FESTIVAL!
We are thrilled to share that the Vision Quilt documentary has been officially selected for the Arts in Healing International Film Festival in Portland!
This short film captures the heart of our work, highlighting the impact of youth-led art, community dialogue, and trauma-informed education in preventing gun violence. We’re honored to have this story featured among other powerful works that explore the role of creativity in healing and social change.
THE GROWING VISION QUILT
PANEL OF THE MONTH by Paris Richelieu
Say Their Names
This artwork was inspired by my deep concern for the pervasive violence that continues to claim innocent lives - both in schools and in Black communities. On the left side I chose to include the names of victims from school shootings spanning from 1997 to 2025, a timeline that reflects how tragically persistent this issue has been throughout my lifetime, On the right side I depicted a police car and city building with the names of unarmed African Americans killed by police between 2005 and 2025. Unfortunately, I ran out of space to include anymore names, which speaks to the devastating scale of those tragedies. In the center, I painted a young Black girl with two buns - a symbolic representation of Black children including my past self. This figure reflects the painful reality that Black youth are often left without a true sense of safety, facing violence in their school, their neighborhoods, and within systems that are supposed to protect them.
As a multiracial woman and the only Black-identifying student in my art therapy cohort, I have faced, and will continue to face, systemic inequities that create an added layer of fear and anxiety - realities my white classmates do not experience in the same way. Gun violence and systemic injustice are deeply personal topics that have shaped my outlook on life. I created this piece to remember the countless lives lost to senseless violence and to demand space for their stories to be seen and felt. I chose these images to invoke reflection, discomfort, and remembrance - a call for conversations about safety, equity and accountability. I hope viewers are moved to sit with the weight of these tragedies and recognize the urgent need for change. ,
Paris Richelieu
Lewis and Clark Art Therapy Graduate Student
MAKE YOUR OWN VISION QUILT PANEL
Express your vision for social justice by creating an 18 x 24-inch panel using any art medium—draw, stitch, collage, or mix materials. Themes can include hope, healing, equity, courage, and community safety.
Share your vision:
Donate Your Panel to Inspire Others:
1125 NW 12th Ave. #1505
Portland, OR 97209
Share a photo of your panel to visionquilt@gmail.com
Vision Quilt is expanding its capacity to meet the growing need for our mission, and we are deeply grateful for your support in enabling and encouraging our continued work through your generous donations.
Our mission is to harness the power of art and community voice to
create real change against gun violence in our neighborhoods.
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