Fractured, Not Broken

This quilt was designed, pieced, and painted by incarcerated people at Southern State Correctional Facility (SSCF) in Springfield, Vermont. 

The artists—JA, GB, AC, DC, DF, QG, RG, FN, JO, TR, and JW*—participated in a workshop from September 2025 to March 2026 with The Prison Quilt Project, conceived by artist and restorative justice practitioner Marie-Pierre Py, and in a two-day cyanotype workshop facilitated by artist Evie Lovett. The quilt was assembled and bound by Py and Suzie Walker, and it is accompanied by music composed by University of Vermont student Alli Cooper-Ellis.

The Prison Quilt Project is an initiative of Interaction: Youth Services & Restorative Justice, a Windham County nonprofit organization that leads restorative circles inside the prison. The project’s goal was to provide a space for incarcerated Vermonters to reflect on and share their experiences while also tapping into the transformational healing power of telling stories through art. It is supported by the Vermont Prison Research Innovation Network (PRIN), a partnership between UVM’s Justice Research Center and the Vermont Department of Corrections that elevates the voices of people who live and work in prisons to better understand prison ecosystems, foster community connections, and advance meaningful systemic change.

After the artists completed the work in Fractured, Not Broken, the project expanded to include the hands of the southern Vermont community that will eventually welcome these incarcerated individuals home. Throughout the summer of 2026, local residents were invited to contribute stitches to the quilt, turning it into a creative dialogue between community members inside and outside prison walls.

The quilt adds texture, color, and a human touch to the information gathered by PRIN’s Prison Climate Surveys, which examine the state of Vermont’s prison environments. The collective storytelling aspect of the quilt highlights the power of community building within correctional facilities. The hand-quilting by local residents outside the prison highlights an essential function of Interaction’s restorative reentry programs: to foster successful reintegration of incarcerated people into their communities.

* The Vermont Department of Corrections prohibits the publishing of names of incarcerated individuals who are charged with or have been convicted of violent crimes. This policy is designed to protect victims from being confronted with traumatic memories in public spaces while the responsible parties are still serving their sentence. The full names of the artists in Fractured, Not Broken will be made public following their release.

Artwork Images

Installation Views

Thank You

The Prison Quilt Project was funded by the Vermont Arts Council and the UVM Justice Research Center, and could not have been made without the support of SSCF Volunteer Coordinator Anthony Giordano and UVM Justice Research Center Director Abby Crocker.