(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) announces that Interwoven Stories: The Final Chapter, the popular community stitching project created by artist/activist Diana Weymar (Princeton University ‘91), has gone national and will return to their Taplin Gallery from June 4 through July 2. The exhibition of more than 400 embroidery pieces, stitched by participants from around the country and right here in Princeton, opens Saturday, June 4 from 3:00pm-6:00pm and is free and open to all. 

Weymar facilitated Interwoven Stories as the Arts Council’s 2016 Artist-in-Residence, creating a special dialogue within the Princeton community. With some participants taking up embroidery for the first time, each stitcher received a fabric page resembling a blank sheet of notebook paper to stitch a story, honor beloved family or friends, or return home to a favorite place through needle and thread.

The response to this project exceeded organizers’ wildest expectations. Each page spoke to the generosity, diversity, spirit, commitment, and creativity of the community and ultimately, more than 100 completed pages were donated to Interwoven Stories 2016 and displayed in the Arts Council’s Taplin Gallery to mark the culmination of Weymar’s residency.

In 2018, the project was expanded and dubbed Interwoven Stories International, the result of Weymar taking the project on the road for two years to curate more than 250 pieces collected from the original Princeton project, plus pages from The Peddie School, the Nantucket Stitching Gam, the Zen Hospice Project (San Francisco), Open Space Art (Damascus, Syria), Build Peace (Columbia), the University of Puget Sound (Tacoma), Yarns/NoDominion Theater (Jersey City), and Trans Tipping Point Project (Victoria, BC).

This 2022 iteration welcomed past participants to revisit their previous works while inviting new stitchers to get involved. After launching in February, more than 100 participants from around the nation joined Interwoven Stories: The Final Chapter and will present their work in the Arts Council of Princeton’s Taplin Gallery, marking the culmination of this beloved community project. 

“Returning to the place where the project started six years ago is an opportunity to reflect on and affirm our community values”, shares Weymar. “If it was important to remember, create, and heal in 2016, it is even more important now. This project has always been about capturing a moment in time.”

Gallery hours are Mon-Thurs: 10:00am-6:00pm; Fri & Sat: 10:00am-4:00pm. Free and open to the public. 

The Arts Council of Princeton, a non-profit organization founded in 1967, fulfills its mission of building community through the arts by presenting a wide range of programs including public art projects, exhibitions, performances, free community cultural events, and studio-based classes and workshops. Arts Council of Princeton programs are designed to be high-quality, engaging, affordable and accessible for the diverse population in the greater Princeton region. 

IMAGES: (TOP) An exhibition of the Arts Council of Princeton’s Interwoven Stories project, created by artist/activist Diana Weymar (BOTTOM) a “page” by participant Anne Marie Miller.