Catrina Sparkman
Members of the Memory Collectors Storytelling Project quilting.
The Memory Collectors Storytelling Project launched in 2023.
In 2022, following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Catrina Sparkman noticed a troubling trend.
Several artists she knew were faced with the responsibility of becoming caregivers for their parents due to cognitive-related diseases like Alzheimer's that Sparkman noticed were impacting senior Black Madisonians, she says.
“We particularly saw it with some of the elders in our church,” says Sparkman. “We just saw that they just didn't come out of COVID well.”
Following this realization, Sparkman, an artist who had recently opened the nonprofit Creator’s Cottage, an arts space for creatives in south Madison, turned to what she knew best: storytelling. Sparkman and Fabu Carter, former Madison poet laureate and senior program manager for UW-Madison’s Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, wanted to share their love for storytelling in a space that prioritized education and community. Together they started a new program, the Memory Collectors Storytelling Project.
“The program is designed, to me, in a very scientific, yet gentle way to help people get to the wellness they desire,” Carter says. “It provides community, fellowship, good healthy food, enjoyment, and laughter.”
Launched in September 2023, MCSP includes 45 participants and 12 volunteers. Every month, they learn new quilting techniques and are encouraged to record their personal histories through their quilts. The group is intergenerational and multiethnic; however, the target participant base has been Black women over the age of 55, says Sparkman.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Black Americans are almost twice as likely as white Americans to experience Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Since MCSP was born out of a concern for those disparities, participants are provided with resources. At every gathering, participants have access to a blood pressure monitor, a guided journal, a vegan lunch, and recipes. Meetings also regularly include presentations from healthcare professionals.
For participant Edith Hilliard, 77, joining the group has been “an awakening.”
“My mother died from Alzheimer's, and I was a caretaker, and several of the women are caretakers,” Hilliard says. “Having the information that we're getting about Alzheimer's from the research has really been very beneficial.”
For several participants, joining MCSP has also provided community.
Mary Wells’ ‘Love in Every Mile' quilt.
In memory of mom: Mary Wells’ ‘Love in Every Mile.’
Two years ago, Mary Wells, 66, joined the group with her mother. At the time, Wells was her mother’s live-in caregiver following her dementia diagnosis.
“She's a storyteller, and I had the creative piece and I said, ‘This will be perfect!’ And it was,” Wells recalls. “My 110% of everything went into what she needed, and this particular group supported all of that.”
Last December, Wells’s mom died at age 92. But Wells remains involved in MCSP, and recently created a quilt in her mother’s memory titled “Love in Every Mile.” The quilt, made from old T-shirts they collected, features a photo of the pair together, hand-painted by artist Alicia Rheal, a nod to their shared passion.
“We traveled over 31 years together,” Wells says. “So I hand embroidered a lot of the airport codes in there.”
Sparkman first recruited Annetta Wright to prepare the group’s lunches. Now, Wright has gained a passion for quilting herself. She has a running list of 13 quilts she wants to create, including one in her father’s memory, who had dementia and passed nearly two years ago. Joining MCSP has been a crucial part of her grieving process, Wright says, and it's shown her how much she’s capable of.
“I'm 56 years old, and it broke my heart to realize I don't know myself outside of being a mom and a school counselor,” Wright says. “It's been fun, healing and I will do this for the rest of my life.”
MCSP’s funding has come and gone from different sources, including the city of Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. While their budget is “threadbare,” they’re making it work since keeping programming accessible is paramount, Sparkman says. “The demographic that we serve, if there's extra money in [their] budget, then they're not spending it on themselves.”
In August, MCSP launched its biggest fundraising effort yet — a $40,000 campaign to fund a trip to Gee’s Bend, Alabama, to attend the Airing of the Quilts Festival on Oct. 4. The festival honors the region’s quiltmaking traditions, which date back to the 1800s.
Along with visiting the festival, MCSP plans to visit historical civil rights sites and meet some of the Gee’s Bend quilters, artists who have been nationally recognized for their contributions to African American art. For Carter, the value of eliminating financial barriers for the group to attend the festival is priceless, and it’s something that can’t be done without community support.
“Financially supporting older people who worked hard and contributed much to our city should be an honor,” Carter says. “We're not looking to be world famous. What we're doing is looking to leave a legacy in Madison, Wisconsin, because this is home now.”
To donate or learn more about the trip to Gee’s Bend and how you can join, email memorycollectorsproject@gmail.com. To learn more about the Memory Collector’s Storytelling Project, visit creatorscottage.org.
A serendipity of quilts this fall
If it has anything to do with quilting, you’ll find it at the annual Great Wisconsin Quilt Show at the Alliant Energy Center Sept. 4-6. The exhibit Statement Pieces: Quilts with Something to Say runs Sept. 4-Oct. 18 at the Textile Arts Center, 1702 S. Park St., with a reception Sept. 5 from 5-8 p.m. The exhibit Parallel Lines: Quilts and the American Landscape runs Sept. 3-May 10 at the Nancy M. Bruce Center for Design and Material Culture at UW-Madison (see Picks, p. 39). And Bubbler artist-in-residence Zak Forster’s quilt and textile exhibit “Southern White Amnesia” at the Central Library through Oct. 27 also features a talk on Sept. 11 on his book The World Needs Your Next Quilt.
