Providence Journal | Article | Madeleine List

National flag project visits R.I. to mark women’s suffrage

PROVIDENCE — As state Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell recited poems from her book of poetry, Marilyn Artus sat behind her, feeding a large piece of fabric through a sewing machine.

Eight-year-old Asha Gould, of Pawtucket, helps hold up the nearly finished flag for all to see at Saturday’s celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The Rhode Island stripe, designed by local artist Allison Cole, was just added to the bottom of the flag. [The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo]

When Ranglin-Vassell finished her last poem, Artus announced, "Rhode Island's on the flag!" as members of the audience whooped and cheered.

The project, called Her Flag, combines performance art with the live creation of a 26-foot-long "riff" on the American flag designed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in America.

On Saturday at the Rochambeau Library, Artus sewed the 24th stripe onto the flag to represent Rhode Island, which was the 24th state to ratify the 19th Amendment.

"In this day and age, you have to do something big to get people's attention," Artus said. "For me, it's raising awareness about women's history, women participating in democracy."

When Artus finished sewing on the 24th stripe, which is a Rhode Island-themed banner designed by Lincoln artist Allison Cole, members of the audience stood up to help her unfurl the flag across the room.

The colorful 18-by-26-foot flag is made up of alternating pink and red stripes, each with its own state-specific theme, and the top left corner features the design of the classic "Votes for Women" button that activists wore during the fight for suffrage.

The Rhode Island stripe depicts six Rhode Island activists from the suffrage era: Julia Ward Howe, Mary Elizabeth Jackson, Elizabeth Buffum Chace, Mary H. Dickerson, Sarah J. Eddy and Paulina Wright Davis. It also features floral scrolls, a reference to the masthead of The Una, one of the first feminist newspapers owned, written and edited entirely by women and founded by Wright Davis.

Cole drew the design, colored it in the graphic-design software program Illustrator, and sent it to be printed by Artus onto the fabric.

"It was just really nice to be a part of all these other wonderful women artists and work on something that was like a collective whole," Cole said.

Artus, who is a fiber artist from Oklahoma City, said she got the idea for the project after the election of President Donald Trump.

"After the last presidential election, so many people were delighted, so many people were not, but I really felt like Americans needed to use their skills in a positive way," she said. "Like everybody needed to step up, and how I could serve my country and do something positive to celebrate this really important anniversary in American history."

Artus has traveled around the country sewing stripes onto the flag and plans to finish in Nashville, Tennessee, on Aug. 18, the same day the 19th Amendment was ratified in that state. It will then be put on display at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Each state's stripe is designed by a woman artist from that state and every sewing event features a performing artist — all of whom are paid for their work, Artus said. She is financing the project with grants, donations and a crowd-funding campaign.

"It's a time to think about something positive, something unifying," Artus said. "It took every American to ratify this amendment ... so it's just a moment to feel good because I think we need that right now."

— mlist@providencejournal.com