NIKE BLANKET PETITION

From 2003-2008, a diverse group of international knit and crochet hobbyists participated in the microRevolt project-- the Nike Blanket Petition, a 15-foot wide handmade blanket of the Nike swoosh. Each 4 x 4 inch square creates the Nike logo, acting as a signature for fair labor policies for Nike garment workers. Over the five-year period, "anti-sweatshop" squares were stitched into the quilt-- representing people petitioning from over 30 countries. The names and location are demonstrated in the above graphic.

Squares accumulated from microRevolt workshops and exhibition tours, though many were donated from global knitting circles by post-mail. Volunteers who made multiple squares later acquired "signatures" by web form. The border was stitched together at Garanti Gallery in Istanbul in November 2007 next to a Nike store, and the quilt was finalized in Troy, New York by 2008.

The Nike Blanket was on view in France at the Musée Bargoin in the Ville de Clermont-Ferrand (Jun 21, 2016 - Dec 31, 2016). From 2014-2015 it toured with the Disobedient Objects exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum (Jul 2014 - Feb 2015) in London UK and then to Australia's Powerhouse Museum in Sydney (Oct 2015 - Feb 2016). In early 2010 the project exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Oregon, nine miles from Nike headquarters, followed by Nebraska's Sheldon Museum of Art (Oct 2010 - Jan 2011). In 2009-2010 the artwork toured with Judy Chicago in Thread as part of the exhibition She Will Always Be Younger Than Us first at the Textile Museum of Canada (Toronto) and then the Art Gallery of Calgary.

The original petition text along with the overflow of electronic signatures are here.

There were at least three digital visualizations of the participant names cooresponding with the coordinate squares (pixel) in the Nike Blanket Petition. However, Flash is now obsolete and a couple of versions were hacked in the wake of 2016. A video describing the mission of microRevolt (2004) is here.