45,000 Quilt Project

This exhibit is sponsored by Washington University's Brown School of Social Work, with collaboration of the Global Studies Program and the Central Reform Congregation of St. Louis.

The 45,000 Quilt Project is a beautiful work of art and brings together the work of over 60 immigrant justice activists and artists. Its large size represents the enormity of immigrant detention in our country with each of its 45 squares containing 1,000 marks. In total, 45,000 marks represents the average of 45,000 in immigrant detention on any given day. This is the largest immigrant detention system in the world. While the beautiful squares reflect the care felt for immigrants who are in jail for no crime other than seeking a better life for themselves and their families, the beauty should not mask its purpose - to alert people to the cruelty encountered by asylum seekers and other immigrants who are jailed.