25 Million Stitches was initiated and conceived in May 2019 by Jennifer Kim Sohn, a multimedia artist and activist, in Sacramento, CA (https://www.jenniferkimsohn.com)  to create a community of art activists, to visually document the enormity of the number of refugees in the world and to sustain the concern for the refugees in the minds of global citizens.

Host This Exhibit

More than just a visual exhibit, the installation offers an immersive experience that prompts us to confront the realities of displacement on a profoundly personal level. As viewers engage with the panels, they are encouraged to reflect on the lives behind each stitch, recognizing their struggles and the vital role of empathy in fostering change.

While we celebrate the completion of 25 Million Stitches, our mission to raise awareness has only just begun. We are dedicated to sharing this meaningful exhibition with broader audiences, and we seek your support to help achieve this vision. Together, we can amplify the voices of those impacted by the refugee crisis and inspire actionable change through this collective expression of love and hope. Join us in this crucial endeavor; your contributions can help us reach new hearts and minds

If you are interested in booking the show, please contact Jennifer Kim Sohn at 25MillionStitches@gmail.com

How Our Community Grew

Although it took over 9 months of slow community building, the project gained global traction by the 10th month when  23 million additional hand sewn stitches were sent in from all over the U.S. and world, surpassing our goal of collecting 25 million stitches. The stitches were counted, panel by panel, through the methods of sample counting four 1 x 1 inch squares and multiplying and averaging the number of stitches. 

We rely on a dedicated team of volunteers. Many of the time-consuming tasks : responding and sending out panels, collating the stitcher data, photographing and recording the panels, counting the stitches, sharing the progress through social media, combining panels into 9-14ft flags for installation, and re-adjusting height of the flags for various venues, are all managed by volunteers.

How does making 25 million stitches help refugees? Although the exhibit began as a visual testament of a numerical statistic, feedback from previous shows in Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, Flagstaff, and Milwaukee has consistently underscored the emotional connection the work fosters in viewers. The exhibit enhances the public's understanding of refugees not as ‘displaced others’ but as fellow humans who happened to encounter a disaster that any of us could face at any moment.  To date, every exhibit we’ve hosted has led to some kind of lecture, concert, or seminar following the opening. For example, I presented the project to high school students in their 2024 World Affairs Seminar in Milwaukee.  The most exciting recent example outcome was a short film featuring 25 Million Stitches, which won the Chicago-MidWest Emmys in three categories this year. I have worked with different venues to create programming customized to each local community, and there is an excellent opportunity to merge this narrative with your students’ concerns and foster constructive dialogues about ongoing conflicts.

How to Support the Project

Write to your local museums and media to introduce the project. A personal account of describing your experience of participating in this project is very effective. You may use any part of this website to explain the project and why you would like the show to come to your local museum. Do include the image of your panels.

If you email to potential venues please copy us at 25millionstitches@gmail.com, so we can follow up with a show proposal.

FUNDRAISING

We are continuing our fundraising effort to cover the current expenses as well as to prepare for installation and travel cost of future shows. GoFundMe:

Tag us on Instagram and share your Facebook posts using #25millionstitches.

Art Activism and Refugee Support

*The statistical refugee count is based on the UN Refugee Agency’s 2017 projection based on their study of refugees in 2016. Read the link to UNHCR.

Seven Ways Our Businesses Can Help Refugees --by Melissa Fleming, syndicated from ideas.ted.com, Jul 31,

Online 'university of anywhere' opens to refugees— by Sean Coughlan BBC Business News July 19, 2018

The calming effects of sewing can help people express and heal themselves— by Clare Hunter, Guardian, Feb 2019

Does Activism make you happy? —By Aditya Chakradotti. Guardian Bainefood