Transmissions Quilts: Home & Away

Join Transmissions Quilts for Home & Away, a trans text(iles) exhibition in Belfast, ME (Penobscot territory), on view from Friday, June 5 through June 12 at Waterfall Arts. Presented in collaboration with Trans Poetics Archive, Out in the Open, and the Belfast Poetry Festival, Transmissions Poetry is a weeklong exhibition and series of events running June 5–12, 2026 at Waterfall Arts. Workshop registration is required, but is FREE!

The exhibition brings together quilts, poetry, oral histories, and interdisciplinary works that explore the intimate relationship between text and textile—story and stitch, memory and material.

Transmissions Quilts is an ongoing project that hires trans artists to create gift quilts for individually nominated trans recipients. Rooted in the long tradition of quilting as a marker of life transitions, the project expands that lineage by centering trans lives, relationships, and geographies. Home & Away is part of a New England tour sharing quilts and additional artwork by Northeast-based artists, with a focus on how storytelling manifests through both language and fabric.

Participating artists in the Belfast exhibition include:
Travis Clough, Dan Toomre, Maddy Magnuson, Danika Azevedo, Joey Dehais, Abby Meyeroal, Nailah Taman, Jordan Lister, Alyson Fraser Diaz, Lune Ames, Lunilah Project, and Cordy Joan.

“We’re committed to celebrating a wide range of people in our trans community, including those living far from traditional art hubs. Bringing this exhibition to Belfast felt like an important way to extend that reach and deepen those connections.” – Cordy Joan, Transmissions Quilts, Director.

Event Details:

Transmissions Quilts: Home & Away
June 5–12, 2026

Opening Celebration & Poetry Open Mic (headlined by Lou Hoecker and hosted by Belfast Poetry Festival)
Friday June 5, 5 – 8pm

Transmissions/Lunilah Text(ile) Workshop* Hosted by Lunilah. Register through Out in the Open.
Saturday June 6, 10 – 1pm *This workshop is open to self-identified trans community members only

Hand in Hand: Poetry and Contact Improv Workshop Hosted by Sampson Spadafore & Lou Hoecker. Register through Out in the Open. Free. Open to everyone.
Sunday June 7, 10am – 1pm

There will be an ADA accessible portable toilet on site, outside not far from the gallery entrance. The workshop is held in the Clifford Gallery, on the ground level of Waterfall Arts. Masking is welcome to support community health and safety. If you are sick on June 7, let us know and please take care by staying home.

Registration for workshops is required and is FREE!