(June 14, 2023 - February 14, 2024)

Philadelphian Linette Messina Martinez says that she “was taught how to crochet at an early age by my sister,” and she later, shared the craft with her cousins. “Soon we were spending time making thick colorful blankets for family members.” Today, she describes her artform as “moonlighting over the last four years as a yarn bombing fiber street artist installing work mostly in my Germantown neighborhood.”

Martinez’s crocheted mural Threads of Sicilian Passage depicts her “transformative bike packing adventure from Catania to Messina, embracing the diverse landscapes of Sicily, flying high with feelings of new love, while simultaneously carrying the weight of grief from my Father’s passing.” This pictorial tribute was created by collaging together photographs from her bike trip, projecting them onto a wall, and outlining sections to recreate in crochet. She calls it “a fusion of craft and storytelling, my crocheted mural is a testament to the transformative power of art.”

Creating the mural, described as “a meditative medium,” Martinez wrote that she was able to “intertwine emotions, memories, and journeys.” It’s her hope “to evoke a sense of longing and curiosity, urging others to embrace their own love stories, process their grief, and embark on their own daring escapades.”