The centerpiece of those shows is Journey to the Beloved Community: Story Quilts by Beth Mount. You can read more about that show and related ones on the Telfair website and the Chatham-Savannah Citizen Advocacy website.

In my column today, I mention some of the content of artist Beth Mount’s recent talk at TEDxCreativeCoast. I’m embedding that talk here — it’s well worth a watch and a listen.

One of Beth Mount’s story quilts

I Am The Beloved Community: Story Quilts of Our Savannah

August 10-December 16 / JC / Second Floor Gallery

Organized by Loop It Up Savannah of West Broad Street, this exhibition is a collection of neighborhood story quilts made by the children of the West Broad Street YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of the Coastal Empire and the seniors of the City of Savannah Hudson Hill Golden Age Center and documented by international students from the Savannah College of Art and Design English as a Second Language Department

Artist and activist Beth Mount at the 34th Annual Chatham-Savannah Citizen Advocacy Covered Dish Supper

Waddie Welcome and the Beloved Community Program

September 27 / 6 pm / JC

Lecture will feature Beth Mount, Tom Kohler, and Susan Earl. Free and open to the public.

Eye to Eye: The Making of We

Opening reception Friday, September 28 / 7 pm

September 28 – October 24 / Indigo Sky Gallery, 915 Waters Avenue

Coordinated by Jerome Meadows, five Savannah artists exhibit original art created in response to the interplay and personal dynamics that exist between people involved in collaboration with Chatham-Savannah Citizen Advocacy.

Here’s Beth Mount at TEDxCreativeCoast:

I’ve been involved with the local Citizen Advocacy office in a variety of capacities for over a decade, and I’m fortunate to count its 3 core employees — Tom Kohler, Robin Gunn, and Ashley O’Brien — among my friends.

While Citizen Advocacy has always been a movement emphasizing freely chosen, one-to-one commitments between advocates and proteges with developmental disabilities, the organization occasionally takes the public stage.

And that’s certainly the case beginning in July, when Beth Mount’s exhibit Story Quilts opens at the Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center here in Savannah. A few of the lush and colorful quilts were on display at last week’s big potluck dinner (you can see them in my photos at the above link), and you can obviously read a snippet about them on the rack card embedded here.

Also on July 19th, we’ll celebrate the Jepson opening of Seeing Savannah: Lyn Bonham’s View of Citizen Advocacy. Lyn has been capturing advocates and proteges for over a decade.

In August, an exhibit of story quilts created by local children will open. I Am The Beloved Community: Story Quilts of Our Savannah is being organized by Loop It Up Savannah of the West Broad YMCA. You can read more about that on the rack card here — it’s a project that boasts some impressive collaboration.

Susan Earl and Tom Kohler will talk about their book Waddie Welcome and the Beloved Community at the Jepson on September 27th.

There will also be an exhibit this fall at Jerome Meadows’ Indigo Sky Gallery: Eye-to-Eye: The Making of We.

So mark your calendars now for all these exhibits and events showcasing the Savannah community at its most inclusive.