Here's how you can contribute a piece to 'Lancaster's Living Quilt,' an Art at Amtrak display

Amtrak's official public art program has chosen Lancaster as its next location, and the public is invited to contribute.

Art at Amtrak brings art projects to various train stations by featuring contemporary artists through rotating exhibitions. Lancaster will be just the fifth train station – and the first not in a major city – to be featured in the program. Art at Amtrak launched at New York's Penn Station in June 2022, and has since expanded to New York's Moynihan Train Hall (across the street from Penn Station), Washington, D.C.,'s Union Station and Philadelphia's William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.

For Lancaster's Art at Amtrak project, local artists Libby Modern and Jill C. Good will create a handmade community quilt of fabrics and stories from Lancaster residents in a piece called "A Place for Every Piece: Lancaster's Living Quilt." The quilt will be on display at the station from fall this year through early 2026.

You can contribute a textile or fabric to be part of the quilt by Oct. 7. Residents are invited to contribute one cloth item of personal or cultural significance. Pieces should measure at least 3 by 3 inches, and must be clean, sewable and durable enough to be handled, cut, sewn and displayed. (Donated textiles will be cut up and cannot be returned; every piece submitted will be incorporated into the quilt.)

Some ideas organizers offer are:

— T-shirts or garments with a strong connection to an event, time or life or place

— Uniforms from a team or job

— Textiles used during special meals or events,

— Scarves or handkerchiefs

Community members can submit their contributions at submission stations around the city. Visit itsmodernart.com/quilt for a list of locations.

Additionally, there will be two public workshops where those interested in the project can drop in for conversation, art-making and refreshments. They are planned:

— Sept. 23, 6-9 p.m., at Modern Art's open studio night, at 529 W. Chestnut St., Lancaster.

— Oct. 1, 5-6:45 p.m., at the Lancaster Public Library, 151 N. Queen St., Lancaster.