Mac Barnes ’26, a 2024 Transform Grant recipient of the Gephardt Institute’s St. Louis Impact Fund, unveiled his exhibit, “Quilts as Civic Engagement: An Interactive History of St. Louis and the Delmar Region,” on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Coinciding with the grand opening of WashU’s Community Engagement Office, located in Delmar DivINe at 5501 Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis’ Central West End, hundreds of visitors viewed and praised Barnes’ quilt, posed for photos and asked the WashU junior about his inspiration and process.
Barnes applied for a Transform Grant, offered through the Gephardt Institute’s St. Louis Impact Fund, in December 2023, and his project was approved for $3,225 in funding in early 2024. This came after Barnes presented work in the institute’s The Queer Experience Art Exhibition, held in Spring 2023.
“The ‘Quilts as Civic Engagement’ project leverages everyone’s comforts with quilts and the specific community’s memories of North Delmar via submitted photographs to spark new dialogue, learning, and understanding of past present and future of the region,” said Barnes. “It is this dialogue and increased understanding we feel will create the deeper connections needed to bridge current divides between students, North Delmar inhabitants, and outside stakeholders that can uplift and support the community together.”
Barnes collaborated with Maxine Clark, Washington University Emeritus Trustee and Chief Inspirator of Delmar DivINe and local digital transformation artist Matt Bryan to create a permanent, publicly accessible and interactive quilt. It is intended to inspire a sense of curiosity and heart for the North Delmar area of St. Louis, and to inspire others to use their unique talents to create an impact on the region.
Lisa Weingarth, Senior Advisor to the Chancellor and Executive Director of WashU’s In St. Louis, For St. Louis Initiative, leads the Community Engagement Office, which is a physical hub that fosters collaboration and relationships with the St. Louis community. She found the quilt to be an excellent complement to WashU’s commitment to be In St. Louis, For St. Louis.
“We are thrilled to display Mac’s quilt in the WashU Community Engagement Office at the Delmar DivINe,” Weingarth said. “This thought-provoking, interactive work connects past and present, showcasing the complex history of St. Louis and the North Delmar Region in a meaningful way.”
For Barnes, creating “Quilts as Civic Engagement” was an exciting and emotional process. It was also personal to the St. Louisans with whom he worked.
“Community partners have been both broad in their excitement, but also specific about their narratives, stories, and histories they feel should be shared through the quilting and dialogue process.”
For Weingarth, the art exhibit offers an opportunity to bring community members together in conversation with each other and with WashU.
“Mac’s quilt is a visual representation of WashU’s ongoing commitment to be in St. Louis, for St. Louis, and with St. Louis. We look forward to seeing the dialogue it will inspire,” she said.
The St. Louis Impact Fund is supported by the Office of the Provost and generous donations to the Gephardt Institute. Since 2008, the Gephardt Institute has distributed over $320,000 in grants through the St. Louis Impact Fund and former Civic Engagement Fund, to advance student civic engagement and St. Louis regional priorities. If you would like to make a gift to support the St. Louis Impact Fund, please click here or contact Stephanie Kurtzman, Executive Director of the Gephardt Institute, at GephardtAdvancement@wustl.edu.