African-American quilts are a significant segment of quilt history. In this video Carolyn Ducey, Curator of Collections, shares these stunning quilts and explains the stories behind the artworks.
African American Quilt Exhibition
African-American quilts come in every imaginable style: traditional patterns and original patterns, bold colours and subdued colours, as well as pieced quilts and story quilts. Like all American quilts, they vary from region to region, from era to era, and from person to person.
For twenty years, Dr. Robert Cargo, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, championed self-taught artists, especially African-American quilt makers from his home state. In 2000, the International Quilt Museum acquired a portion of his collection, which spans the twentieth century and represents locales all over Alabama, including urban areas such as Birmingham, rural areas like Greene County, and now-famous communities such as Gee’s Bend.
I’m please to announce that Covid 19 Part 1 has been selected to take part in the Threads of Survival exhibition. This touring exhibition will be in the J.H.Adams & Sons building, Adams Heritage Centre, 17 Main Street, Littleport, CB6 1PH, 1st – 29th October 2022 and in Chorley in February 2023. Check for the latest exhibition dates here.
COVID-19 Part 1 part of the Threads of survival exhibition
“Thoughts on the impact of solid words gathered by Lancashire textile artist Catherine Hill. Threads Of Survival were thrilled to receive an email from someone who had seen our work on Instagram and wanted to know if there was any way we could include her work. We’re proud of the fact that our project has been focused on anyone and everyone coming on board and having a go – no matter what background or skills/experience. But we have to acknowledge that we’ve been blessed with textile and visual artists who have joined us and been incredibly generous with their time and their creative ideas. It’s been a real support knowing that our grassroots community approach is recognised as valuable by professional artists.
Collecting words and phrases of the Covid era has been an element of our quilts … Catherine Hill, a Lancashire textile artist, chose to capture the mental state of so many of us dealing with the repetitive routine and circular patterns of the LockDown year 2020/21. Catherine’s work has been shown in galleries and exhibitions recently and we discussed the decision to put her textile pieces behind glass and inside frames. We’ve had our own discovery with one of our patches and Catherine agreed that placing textiles in a frame and behind glass gives the work a different presence to the viewer. Catherine’s Covid19 – Part One joins us for the winter tour into 2023 and we are delighted that she has asked to join the collection.
This is what she has to say about her piece. Some people write memoirs or biographies – I make hand-stitched embroideries. Originally my art was created for my children as a medium to share my own childhood memories and has since evolved and expanded to collect and record aspects of my own daily life – this included life during the first UK lockdown which I felt needed documenting in some way. The piece is about our shared experiences in March 2020. It was designed in late summer and stitched just before the November 2020 lockdown. As I was stitching it, I found myself doubting that some of these things had actually occurred – no planes in the sky and the loud sound of birdsong. We all lived through a joint experience in March that we’ll remember for years to come.”
Threads of Survival blog.
Threads of Survival
I’m honoured to have this piece included in the project.
Update October 2022:
Images from the Littleport exhibition.
Covid-19 Part 1 in the Littleport exhibition
Update January 2023:
The touring exhibition is showcasing artworks at St Laurence’s Church Gallery, Chorley, 31st January – 26th February 2023.
Update March 2023:
The exhibition visits Halifax in the Calderdale Valley, 7th March – 13th April 2023.
The exhibition comes to Halifax Central Library & Archives, Square Road, Halifax HX1 1QG, as part of a nationwide tour that has seen the quilts visiting locations across the country, including Gawthorpe Hall in Burnley, the Royal Museum in Truro and Dewsbury Minster. After Halifax it will be moving to Rotherham Minster, in May.
Update May 2023:
The touring exhibition reaches Rotherham, South Yorkshire 4th – 30th May 2023.
In May 2023, Rotherham welcomes ‘Threads of Survival’, a national exhibition of 28 quilts and textile art made by over 160 people. The artworks will be showcased in two venues in the centre of Rotherham: Riverside Gallery in Riverside House and Rotherham Minster.
Update June 2023:
The touring exhibition visits the Huddersfield Art Gallery Unit 7, The Piazza Centre, Princess Alexandra Walk, Huddersfield HD1 2RS, 9th June – 10th July 2023.
Vendulka and her husband Oliver work together on designing and creating the quilts.
“I started with traditional squares and triangles, which gave me good skills I can now build upon,” Vendulka says. “My passion for free motion quilting took me away from piecing and more into whole cloth and art quilts. I’m also very lucky I can share this passion with my husband Olivier.”
The intricate design of the quilts in this exhibition have been designed by Olivier and quilted by Vendulka. They then explored the use of glittery and metallic paints to bring more colour and, more interestingly, ‘bling’ to their work, which is not often seen in textiles.
Each piece is dedicated to a different woman who inspired or influenced their textile journey. Since embarking on her textile art adventure, Vendulka has won awards at major quilt shows, including first runner-up in Wearable art at PIQF in California.
Artwork by Vendulka Battais
The couple won third place in the Great Northern quilt show in Harrogate and Best in Show at the Festival of Quilts 2021.
Artwork by Vendulka Battais
Watch this space! – join the mailing list and be first to see some wonderful artist interviews.
