Media Release/Photo Opportunity - Quilt of Possibilities at Queen's Park

Speaker Unveils Greenbelt Quilt for Public Viewing

TORONTO, May 3 /CNW/ - Contributions from over 50 artists have created the Quilt of Possibilities - a dynamic quilt that celebrates the Ontario Greenbelt's 5th Anniversary. Each square evokes a personal connection that each maker has with this important landscape.

Today the Honourable Steve Peters, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, will unveil the Quilt to Members of Provincial Parliament and members of the public. A brief reception will be held this evening from 5-6pm in room 340 at the Main Legislative Building of Queen's Park.

Highlights of the Quilt include a square made by recycling men's shirts into crop rows, and another that uses the silk from Greenbelt-grown corn to make a corn maze. Materials and techniques used in the Quilt range from spinning and weaving, to needlework, beading, screenprinting, and traditional quilting. The result is a tapestry that is as diverse as the Greenbelt itself.

"We have been thrilled with the way people have responded to the Quilt and been inspired to relate to the Greenbelt in a new way," said Burkhard Mausberg, President of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. "By having the Quilt on display at Queen's Park, we hope to make that personal connection even stronger with audiences who come to view the House in session."

"I'm honoured to have the Quilt at the Legislative Assembly as it is a proud display of the natural richness and beauty of our Province," Speaker Peters said. "The artists involved in the Quilt have created masterpieces that all visitors to the Legislative Assembly will have the opportunity to enjoy."

The Quilt is a partner project between the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the Ontario Crafts Council. It will be displayed at Queen's Park for six weeks between May 4th and June 11th before making a tour across Ontario throughout the rest of the year. The Quilt will hang outside the public viewing gallery on the fourth floor. The Quilt of Possibilities has also been selected by the Ontario Crafts Council to be one of the curated craft objects on display in Deerhurst this June for the Muskoka G8 summit.

The Ontario Crafts Council exists to grow recognition and appreciation of craft and craftspeople by building a strong, talented, distinct craft community and advocating on its behalf. For more information please visit www.craft.on.ca. To download a copy of the Quilt of Possibilities catalogue and to see a timelapse video of the Quilt being put together, visit www.craft.on.ca/Programs/Greenbelt.

Wrapping around the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt is 1.8 million acres of potential to make Ontario, and the earth, a better place. Encompassing the Niagara Escarpment, the Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park, hundreds of rural towns and villages and over 7,000 farms, Ontario's Greenbelt is the largest and most diverse in the world. The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation is a charitable organization established to support the vitality of Ontario's Greenbelt. For more information about Ontario's Greenbelt visit www.greenbelt.ca.

Media interested in attending the event who are not already accredited at Queen's Park are requested to RSVP to Maggie Head at the information noted below by noon on Monday, May 3rd to be connected to the Queen's Park press gallery.

For further information: Allison Decker, Communications Manager, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, [email protected] or [phone] x 307 or [phone] (mobile); Janna Hiemstra, Programs Manager, Ontario Crafts Council, [email protected] or [phone] x225; Maggie Head, Executive Assistant, Office of the Speaker, [email protected] or [phone]