Family First: Sewn Stories - A Textile Memory Garden

"Sewn Stories: A Textile Memory Garden" invites participants to explore memory, identity, ancestry, nature, and belonging through mixed-media textile art. Inspired by Sown Together: New Voices in Contemporary Textile Art, participants will transform reclaimed fabrics, fibers, and found objects into small three-dimensional gardens. Flowers, roots, leaves, and seeds become symbols for the people, places, experiences, and traditions that have helped shape us. No sewing experience is required—participants are encouraged to stitch, tie, wrap, layer, paint, or collage their stories into art.

Family First is presented by Novant Health

Michelle "Bunny" Gregory is a Charlotte, North Carolina–born mixed-media artist, designer, and community advocate whose work is rooted in culture, storytelling, and connection. A graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Bunny's creative practice spans illustration, collage, sculpture, murals, and reclaimed materials.

Inspired by hip hop, pop art, and Black culture, Bunny believes art should create space for people to see themselves and tell their stories. She founded THE UNDERGROUND, a grassroots creative space that became a platform for artists, musicians, and poets. In 2017, Creative Loafing Magazine named her the "Queen Mother of Charlotte's Underground Hip Hop."

Through her UNDERGROUND Mobile Art Studio, Bunny brings art and mentorship to underserved communities. Her work celebrates Black women, explores womanhood, resilience, and inequality, and uses art as a tool for empowerment, healing, and connection.