An Olympian Created This Quilt for the 2024 Olympics
It Includes Scraps from Sport Clothing from Around the World!
The Olympics have long been known for the outstanding feats achieved by its athletes, but few may realize there’s an artistic component too. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, dozens of artworks created by Olympian artists were unveiled to an international audience before the opening ceremony.
One of those pieces is the stunning quilt, “Full Circle”, displayed by American rower Grace Latz. The quilt depicts the Olympic emblem made with repurposed scraps from sports clothing from around the world, including some from Grace’s competition days (Grace competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics, representing the United States in women’s rowing).
As part of the Olympian Artists programme, Grace traveled to Paris in 2023 to work with local senior citizens to create the quilt.
Grace appears in the center.
According to Grace:
“Quilts are a community effort to honour big events that are both personal and shared.
“When scraps of fabric are assembled, they transform into celebratory, healing, comforting, unifying and expressive works of art that carry many layers of meaning and emotion.
“The work created collectively from scraps of discarded sports clothing symbolises effort, unity and collaboration”.
The quilt roughly measures 6 feet by 10 feet and includes snips of a 5K fun run T-shirt, a rugby uniform, volleyball netting, and a swim cap to name a few of the many pieces of uniforms, tee shirts, and other memorabilia that made their way into the quilt.
Grace explained that she wanted to work with seniors to make the quilt because, “I think this group often gets forgotten in the sports world, where everything is about being the biggest, fastest and strongest.”
Grace with her Mom who served as an advisor on the project.
The quilt will eventually be housed at the Olympic Museum.
Grace created the quilt because she was selected to participate in the Olympian Artists programme led by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through the Olympic Museum. Learn more about the 2024 exhibit here.
Learn more about Grace and her sports career, her love for art, and what this project means to her here. Scroll to the bottom of the article for a slideshow of photos of the quilt under construction.
