The GRC quilt
Pat Rozendal, a needle artist, historian, and teacher of embroidery from Houston, made this piece of ‘living history’ and a ‘visual display of the invisible medium of radio’ in 2007.
Pictured: Pat and Roger Rozendal
The quilt was made to increase the participation of under-represented voices in the Grassroots Radio movement. Quilts historically represent the collective efforts of communities and kin. The Grassroots Radio Coalition similarly promotes values of community and solidarity in the media. This quilt is dedicated to our continuing efforts to build universal kinship and community as we expand and defend the right to communicate for all.
This quilt has been displayed (and usually gets some positive press) at many GRC conferences since its debut in 2007. A raffle is held for the opportunity to take the quilt back to a home station for display, until the next GRC conference. Tens of thousands of dollars raised by this fundraiser raffle have seeded the GRC Solidarity Fund. This resource is matched by donors who also contribute funds to bring more folks to these radio events that wouldn’t otherwise be able to come out. A community ritual of mutual aid and media reform that creates transformative outcomes
GRC is a magical event. For over 20 years this conference has brought together college and community radio stations to share ideas, information, and inspiration. The Grassroots Radio Conference has continued to exist, some say, precisely because of it does not exist at all. There is no guiding organization, no by-laws, no template or instruction booklet. There is a quilt and a fistful of dollars that is passed from one community radio station to the next. As such, each conference takes on a personality of its very own. Truly, you never know what to expect! —Sharon Scott, ArtxFM WXOX-LP
Help make a new LPFM Grassroots Radio Quilt in 2025!
If you want to see your favorite LPFM radio station represented in a NEW GRC quilt, we need your tee-shirt designs! You can donate them to the project in a few ways:
- Mail them to Austin Airwaves P. O. Box 300384 Austin, TX 78703
- Hand them to Jim Ellinger at the NFCB or GRC conference
- Give them to Keith Rozendal at the GRC conference
- Email quilt@keithrozendal.com with a link to buy one of your shirts
- we will hit you up for a donation to cover our costs
You can also donate funds directly to cover project materials costs by emailing quilt@keithrozendal.com for instructions. Keith and ‘Miss Pat’ will contribute their labor, but we’ll need to gather materials costs and the machine quilting and finishing. Any donations in excess of expenses will be added to the GRC Solidarity Fund.
Pat’s son Keith Rozendal is the Chief Engineer at KCSB Santa Barbara and former Broadcast Advisor to KZSC Santa Cruz (both student-run grassroots/community radio stations broadcasting from campuses of the University of California). Keith learned broadcasting philosophies and took home inspiration from many GRC conferences and LPFM roundups, so he is eager to help make a new ‘LPFM Quilt.’
The Grassroots Radio Coalition mission statement
“More than audio outlets, volunteer-based community radio stations are cultural institutions in their communities, reflecting the unique concerns & passions of the people who live there. With a system of governance based on openness and collaboration, & diverse programming produced by volunteers and funded by listeners, these stations are cornerstones of participatory democracy, offering ordinary citizens the chance to exercise First Amendment rights in a mass medium and audiences the opportunity to directly support the programming that is of importance to them.”