Kids Craft Quilt Honoring MLK At St. Anthony Art Studio

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- With no work or school for many adults and kids across the metro, there were many ways to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

But WCCO's Molly Rosenblatt found a group in St. Anthony celebrating his legacy through art.

It's another day at work at Created To Grow in St. Anthony for Ariane Kokesh.

But Monday, her open art studio for children and their parents is an opportunity to give kids a voice through their art.

"Starting with Martin Luther King's life and celebrating it isn't just about looking at what he did, but it's about how can we continue that legacy as a community," Kokesh said.

And they're doing just that, piece by piece.

The result -- a total of 170 quilt squares. They'll be sewn together as a gift to the community, and a way for the kids to see that their voice matters.

"I don't stand up in front of people and speak like Martin Luther King, that was his art. His art was being an orator, his art was words. That's not my art, but I still have a way to have a voice because of my pictures and my images," Kokesh said.

Kokesh says that's what Monday was about.

Teaching kids that they, too, can speak and have a voice in our community, through art -- a lesson here in her studio, while celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"It's important to me on days that have meaning, that we reflect on that meaning," Kokesh said. "When we have an open studio, that it's not just come here to play because you have a day off school. We remember why we have this day off school and that's important."

Once the pieces are all sewn together, the quilt will travel through St. Anthony to be displayed in different community places.