Posted: January 17th, 2012 Tonya Jameson

Artist Edwin Gil is at it again – uniting cultures through art. This time he using the tradition of quilting along with social media and good ol’ fashioned paint to create “Quilting Differences.”

The A.C.T. (Achieving Community Today)-funded project features 18 people, nine from the U.S. and nine from abroad. The participants’ childhood stories and favorite colors will create a multimedia quilt. On Saturday, local participants stopped by Gil Gallery to record their stories and paint their swatches.

Gil said he was particularly excited about using social media as a part of this project because it will help show people the range of uses for social media. For example, he’s using Skype to create works for “Quilting Differences.” In this project, people from throughout the world share stories from their past.

Marina Berdan participated in Saturday’s workshop because she wanted to share a story from her childhood in Russia. Berdan embodies the project’s soul. She is a Russian native who grew up in Charlotte and is marrying a Colombian-native who lives here as well.

“It brings the whole world together,” Berdan said. “The project, it pretty much shows that no matter where you’re from, no matter what you do you’re the same. “

Berdan and the other participants each shared a childhood story with a cultural connection, their favorite color and why along with a short biography. Along with the live video interviews, Gil is also recording other narratives via Skype. All of the videos will be compiled into a video that will accompany the large quilt of artwork, comprised of the participants’ paint swatches of their favorite colors. Gil will display the final work publicly once the project is complete.

“Quilting Differences” is just one of the numerous projects that Gil has mounted to create cultural understanding through art. Last year, he created “Flag of Hope,” which featured more than 10,000 handprints and travelled throughout the state. Gil says he uses art to promote cultural understanding because it helped him deal with the challenges he’s faced in life. Plus, Gil says art can bring communities together.

Whether it’s putting painted handprints on canvas or inviting children to create original paintings, Gil’s projects make everyone feel like an artist and that personal story are worth sharing.

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