Watch
Craft, Protest, and Feminism Panel Discussion (Carpenter’s Hall)
Rita’s Quilt Update (The Kelly Clarkson Show)
Rita’s Quilt (The Kelly Clarkson Show)
Rita’s Quilt (CBS Nightly News)
Rita’s Quilt (Pecha Kucha Chicago Presentation)
How Rita’s Quilt is Connecting Women Around the World (WTTW)
Drexel University Honors College Commencement Address
Danish Broadcasting Corporation Evening News Segment: Political Cross Stitching
Listen
Everyone Can Be An Activist (This Podcast Will Change Your Life with Ben Tanzer)
Art Activism (Here We Are Podcast)
Instead of Thinking “I Could”, I Just Said, “I Will.” (What Can I Do? Podcast)
Kentucky Teenagers Discover that Embroidery Is A Lot More Than Just Craft (NPR)
Hearts and Crafts - A craft night with Nerdette (Nerdette Podcast)
Craftivism + SLC (KRCL RadioACTIVE Salt Lake City)
Art and Commerce (StoryBeat Studio Podcast)
Needlecraft is Good For You (This Is Good For You Podcast)
The Joy of Making: A Passion and a Profession (The Brave Files Podcast)
Changing the World Doesn’t Have to be Epic (We’re Only Human Podcast)
How to be an Ally (Standing in Her Power Podcast)
Using Cross Stitch to Dismantle White Supremacy, Really! (Stepping Into Truth Podcast)
The Resurgence of Hand Embroidery: Craftivism Through Cross Stitching (Viewpoints Radio)
Creating Community with Shannon Downey (It’s Complicated Podcast)
Meet “Craftivist” Shannon Downey (WBEZ Reset)
Rita’s Quilt (NPR - All Things Considered)
How A Movement Combines Art + Activism (KCUR, Kansas City NPR Station)
Badass Cross Stitch SXSW special edition: As Told By (Lush Podcast)
A Conversation with Shannon Downey (A Playful Day Podcast)
Craftivism + Life (Everything is Workable Podcast)
Podcast Episode #121: Shannon Downey of Badass Cross Stitch (While She Naps Podcast)
Multi-million Dollar Companies Keep Stealing This Woman's Art (CJAD 800 AM Radio)
A Disruptive Conversation with Shannon Downey (Disruptive Conversations Podcast)
Close Knit Podcast: Subversive Embroidery, Craftivism and Processing Through Stitching
The Lisa D Show - Craftivism, Protest Signs + Rage Stitching
Read
The Knauer Gallery Presents Craftivism: Needles for Change (The Quad)
Artful Needling (Republican Journal)
Samplers, Swearwords, and Sass: A Look at Modern Cross Stitch (Craft Industry Alliance)
Stitching for Safety (Roswell Daily Record)
Village Fabric Shop Welcomes Afghan Refugees to the Triad (Yes! Weekly)
How Craft Projects Help Women and LGBTQ+ Folks Express Their Voice (Mission Magazine)
Austin Embroiderists Build Community Stitch by Stitch (Austin Chronicle)
Craftivism and Remote Teaching with Shannon Downey (Columbia College)
Creative Quarantine: Craftivist Shannon Downey (Esthetic Lens Magazine)
The Emerging Artists Making Embroidery Political (I-D)
The Joy of Finishing Rita’s Quilt (BBC News)
Shannon Downey answers 12 questions on Relating to the Creative Process (You May Also Like…)
The Resistance will be Cross Stitched: Interview with Shannon Downey (College News)
11 Creative Gifts for DIY Crafting (Apartment Therapy)
Messages In The Making: Inspiring A Movement, One Badass Cross Stitch at a Time (Best Self Magazine)
When Being Bad Does Good (The Smart Set)
IrishCentral.com Creativity & Arts Award Winner: Voice of Today - Shannon Downey
Shannon Downey on Art, Activism, Craftivism, and Other Feats (Windy City Times)
How Women Are Using Knitting and Needlework As A Form Of Protest (Bust)
"Craftivist" Shannon Downey Reflects on a Year of Angry Cross Stitching" (Chicago Magazine)
Badass Cross Stitch - An Interview (Atlas Magazine)
Why "Good Boys" Need To Stop Getting Away With All The Bad Things They Do (Bust)
Crafting the New Activism (Columbia College)
Professor Stitches Together Activism, Empowerment (Columbia Chronicle)
Why "Me Too" has the Power to Break Open the Culture of Silence (Refinery 29)
How That "Boys will be Boys" Embroidery Became The Internet's Response To Harvey Weinstein (Vogue)
Minka Kelly Apologizes for being "Complicit" in Keeping Weinstein Rumors Quiet (Refinery29)
How Feminist Cross Stitching Became A Tool Of The Resistance (Bustle)
America Finally Has A New "Hope" Poster (Fast Company)
Awesome Women's March Protest Posters to Inspire Your Own (Elle)
61 of the Greatest Signs From Women's Marches Around the Country (Buzzfeed)
The Best Protest Signs from the Inauguration of Donald Trump (Slate)
Required Reading: Women's March Posters (Hyperallergic)
15 Ways to Craft Yourself Into Oblivion After the Dumpster Fire That Was 2016 (Buzzfeed)
Frustrated? Here's Why You Should Be Making "Protest Embroidery" (The Poke)
Columbia College: Faculty Spotlight
Design Feast: Pride, Work and the Necessity of Side Projects
Books That I am Included In
Persuasive Acts: Women’s Rhetorics in the 21st Century
Signs of Resistance: A Visual History of Protest in America
Notorious RGB: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
A Call To Needles: Acts of Craftivism and Crafted Kindness in The Age of Trump
Crafting Change: Handmade Activism Past and Present
On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World
Relevant Grants, Awards, + Associations
Teaching Artist, The Museum of Contemporary Art Boston, (co)Lab, 2023
Craft Visionary, American Craft Magazine, American Craft Council, 2022
Center for Craft, Craft Futures Fund Grant, Collaboration with Black Women Stitch, 2020
Center for Craft, Craft Futures Fund Grant, Collaboration with Museum of Design Atlanta, 2020
Columbia College Chicago, Faculty Grant, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
Micro Galleries, International Collaborative Member, Hong Kong, 2019 -2021
International Nasty Woman Art Prize, Finalist, London, 2018
Voice of Today, Creativity and Arts Award, Irish Central Magazine, New York, 2018
Recent Shows and Exhibits
2024
Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Stitched, Woven, and Hooked, Group Show, Michigan City, IN
2023
Knauer Gallery, Craftivism, Group Show, West Chester, PA
2022
Piano Craft Gallery, Speak Up, Group Show, Boston, MA
Waterfall Arts, Radical Acts, Belfast, ME
Microgalleries, Project/Forward: 2048, Group Show, Exhibited simultaneously in 15 countries
University of Utah, Queer Joy, Group Show, Salt Lake City, UT
2021
National Liberty Museum, Craftivism: Activism Through Craft, Solo Show, Philadelphia, PA
National Liberty Museum, Reconstructing Bowie: Freedom in Eccentricity, Group Show, Philadelphia, PA
Something Cool Studios, It’s Nice to Meet Me, Solo Show, Austin, TX
Kulturkvarteret Pedagogien, Handmade Revolution, Group Show, Hjo, Sweden
Neill Cochran House Museum, The Making of Rita’s Quilt, Solo Show, Austin, TX
Beacon Gallery, Tiny Pricks, Group show, Boston, MA
2020
Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Well Behaved Women: Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage, Group Show, Michigan City, IN
Women’s Caucus for Art National Juried Exhibition, Collectively Shifting, Group Show, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL
Water Street Studios, Leading Women, Group Show, Batavia, IL
2019
Woman Made Gallery, Radical Acts, Group Show, Chicago, IL
De Bailie Debate Center, Nasty Women #TeamFemke, Group Show, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Center on Halsted, It’s Nice to Meet Me, Solo Show, Chicago, IL
Spring Arts Gallery, It’s Complicated, Group Show, Los Angeles, CA
Lingua Franca, Tiny Pricks, Group Show, New York, NY
Chicago Art Department, Pro-Choice Voices, Group Show, Chicago, IL
Stone Sparrow Gallery, A Taste of Sparrow, Group Show, New York, NY
The Other Art Fair, Upcycle Booth, Group Show, Chicago, IL
National Quilt Museum, The Making of Rita’s Quilt, Paducah, KY
2018
Museum of Design Atlanta, Making Change, Group Show, Atlanta, GA
Salon Appetite, The Works of Shannon Downey, Solo Show, Chicago, IL
Society of Typographic Artists, Chicago Characters, Group Show, Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL
The Anti Art Fair, Elijah Wheat Showroom, On Becoming a Badass, Solo Exhibit, London, England
International Nasty Women Art Show Finals, #reBUTTal, London, England
Pilsen Outpost, #EndGunViolence, Curator, Chicago, IL
Woman Made Gallery, Feminist: Plural, Group Show, Chicago, IL
Notable Collections + Commissions
50 original works, For Film’s Sake, London, England, 2023
Arts Create Hope, Americans for the Arts, Washington DC, 2021
Forbidden Fruit, Dickinson - Apple TV, Los Angeles, CA, 2021
Pandemic Art Kit, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, Boston, MA, 2021
Support Each Other, Museum of Design, Chicago, IL 2021
Working Moms, Senator Tammy Duckworth Campaign, Springfield, IL, 2021
Pay Me Like a White Man, Elijah Wheat Showroom, New York, NY, 2021
Why Women Kill Part 1, 2, 3, Why Women Kill – CBS, Los Angeles, CA, 2020
We’re Angry, Misbehaviour – US movie opening, Los Angeles, CA, 2020
15 original works, The Bold Type – Freeform, Los Angeles, CA 2019, 2020
7 original works, SOHO House, London, England, 2019
Recent Notable Speaking Engagements
Keynote Address, Maker City Summit, Knoxville, TN, 2021
The Making of Rita’s Quilt, Neill Cochran House Museum, Austin, TX, 2021
Keynote Address, ITW Annual DEI Conference, Virtual, 2020
Art Activism in the Midwest, National Women’s Caucus for Art Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, 2020
Craftivism + Feminism, Chairman Mom Conference, Paradise, CA, 2019, 2018
Commencement Address, Drexel University, 2018
Select Collaborations
Smithsonian African American Craft Initiative, Think Tank, 2021
Spoonflower, Collaborative Making Initiative, 2021
Chicago Public Library, Teen Learning Series, 2021
Fuller Craft Museum + Be Seen Project, Disrupting Craftivism Panels, 2020/2021
Museum of Design Atlanta + Center for Craft, Pandemic Workshop Series, 2020/2021
Press Kit
Someday I will totally get around to doing this. I am leaving this here as a reminder that I should really do this.