Image: Ann Arbor Art Center Exhibition Gal, Ann Arbor, Detroit
The Ann Arbor Art Center will present 'Catching Fireflies: Quilt Collage Drop In' on August 22, a hands-on workshop led by artists and sisters DaJaniere Rice and Gyona Rice. The drop-in session is scheduled from 1 to 4 pm and is open to all ages, with children under 12 asked to attend with an adult. The event is part of the center’s broader 'Catching Fireflies: What We Held Onto' programming in its Spotlight Gallery.
According to the Art Center’s event listing, participants will make a small, improvisational, quilt-inspired collage using fabric scraps, patterned paper, and mixed-media materials. The workshop is described as beginner-friendly and centered on creative exploration, with no sewing experience required. Materials will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, though attendees may bring additional materials of their own.
The activity draws directly from the themes of the exhibition, which the Art Center says explores home as an archive of memory, care, and creativity. In the gallery text, the sisters are described as having grown up in Inkster, Michigan, surrounded by family members who made, sold, stitched, cooked, repurposed, and created as ways of surviving and loving. Those everyday acts are presented as the foundation for their artistic practices.
The workshop asks participants to reflect on the people, traditions, and spaces that have shaped them, translating those ideas into a finished piece that reflects a place, person, or memory that feels like home. Each participant will leave with a completed mini quilt collage, approximately 5 by 7 or 8 by 8 inches, mounted on cardstock or a canvas panel and ready to frame or display.
The Rice sisters’ exhibition, 'Catching Fireflies: What We Held Onto', is on view in the A2AC Spotlight Gallery from August 7 to September 2, 2026. The opening reception is listed for Friday, August 7, from 6 to 8 pm. Alongside the exhibition, the Art Center has scheduled related public programs that include an artist talk on August 28 and a PlayLab block-printing workshop for kids and caregivers on August 22.
DaJaniere Rice is described by the Art Center as a multidisciplinary artist and designer from Inkster whose practice explores identity, memory, and care through painting and fiber art. Gyona Rice is listed as a Detroit-based printmaker, designer, and mixed media artist whose work explores memory, identity, and the everyday rituals of Black life through linocut and collage. The 'Quilt Collage Drop In' carries a $15 fee and takes place at the Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 W. Liberty St., Ann Arbor.
