On November 13, 2021, Second Street Gallery hosted Embroidered Portraits with Michael-Birch Pierce, a fundraiser in collaboration with RVA artist Michael-Birch Pierce to support the gallery. Pierce created custom embroidered portraits, stitched live in the gallery, and completed in 3-5 minutes with one continuous line of thread in a single color. Participants also had the option to get custom portraits of their pets, family or friends.

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Michael-Birch Pierce's embroidered portrait practice was born from a desire to find authenticity in machine production. Guiding fabric by hand under a standard home sewing machine, each portrait is one of a kind, stitched live, with the subject watching. Merging fashion and illustration, Michael-Birch Pierce's free-motion embroidered portraiture has garnered them international recognition. Michael-Birch Pierce is sought everywhere from Art Basel to the 2018 Oscar Party. They have designed for the Obamas, exhibited at NY Fashion Week, and received numerous prizes.