Series Description
Join the Textile Society of America for this online colloquium showcasing (re)claimed stories/narratives and histories of textile creation, practice, and study. In these presentations and panel discussions, innovative artists and scholars will discuss textile histories and practices of American communities traditionally underrepresented in the political and cultural landscape. Offering insights that often challenge mainstream academic discourse and longstanding frameworks of knowledge, these speakers will underscore the plurality of textile histories, producers, and purposes while advocating for more inclusive approaches in the textile field. The series is conceived of as an ongoing conversation with the presentations building on one another, and it is suggested that TSA members engage with the entire series as they would approach a day-long conference. This series is generously supported by the Lenore Tawney Foundation as part of their ongoing commitment to insure access to critical voices of the textile community.
There are four one-hour sessions in this series, the first in April followed by sessions in May, September, and November. The registration fee is $10 for TSA members and $15 for non-members.
Session 2: Surviving Blackness in America: Quilts as Political Statement
Tuesday, May 24th, 2022 ; 7:00 pm EDT / 4:00 pm PDT
Quilts and quilt making are important to American culture, particularly to African American culture. Historically, quilting was one of the few mediums accessible to marginalized groups to tell their own story. African American quilts are the vanguard of social storytelling—at this crucial moment, their indisputable truths must light our path to a place of empathy. Wailings from stories of loss, compassion, and courage awaken our collective consciousness. The responsibility to voice these stories has historically fallen on the shoulders of members of the vanguard: cultural critics, social activists, and artists of every genre, including quiltmakers. The narrative quilts made by members of Women of Color Quilters Network have provided a canvas to make these stories and important voices visible. This panel discussion with Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, Ed Johnetta Miller, Dorothy Burge and L’Merchie Frazier explores the use of quilts as a reflection of past and current situations adversely affecting the African American community.
Opening and Closing Remarks by Karen Hampton.
Panelists
Dorothy Burge is a fabric and multimedia artist and community activist who is inspired by history and current issues of social justice. She is a self-taught quilter who began creating fiber art in the 1990s after the birth of her daughter, Maya. Dorothy is a native and current resident of Chicago, but is descendent from a long line of quilters who hailed from Mississippi. These ancestors created beautiful quilts from recycled clothing. Her realization that the history and culture of her people were being passed through generations in this art form inspired her to use this medium as a tool to teach history, raise cultural awareness, and inspire action.
Website: www.dorothyburge.com
L’Merchie Frazier is a Boston-based visual and performance artist /educator /consultant. She currently serves as the Director of Education at the Museum of African-American History, Boston / Nantucket. Her work provocatively traverses the mediums of fiber, beads, metals, poetry, performance, and work with community, serving as threads of memory reclaimed from the icons that bring recognition, salvation, redemption. She has received support and praise for her evocative fiber and metal sculptures, innovative mixed-media installations, hand-crafted beaded jewelry, and her powerful quilt series “Quilted Chronicles.” Her work has appeared in numerous publications and has been exhibited in public and private collections of numerous institutions, including the University of Vermont, the American Museum of Art and Design, New York, and the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC.
Website: lmerchiefrazier.com
Ed Johnetta Miller is a quilt/fiber artist working with color, pattern and textures of fabric. She enjoys the freedom, movement and power given to creating the sculpture of cloth. She notes, “I want the viewers to be able to visually enter my quilts and walk through fields of color to the still, contemplative space within.” She has received many awards for her role as an artist and community leader, including Connecticut’s most prestigious artistic award, The Governor’s Award.
Website: Edjohnetta.com
Carolyn L. Mazloomi is an artist, author, historian, and curator acknowledged as being among the most influential African American quilt historians in the United States. She has exhibited widely in the United States and internationally. Her artwork can be found in numerous important museums and corporate collections, such as the Wadsworth Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Fine Arts Museum Boston, American Museum of Art and Design, and Cincinnati Art Museum. In 1985 she founded the Women of Color Quilters Network, which has been a major force in fostering the fiberart works of African American people. Through Mazloomi’s effort WCQN members have had their quilts presented in venues such as prominent museums and galleries, and in internationally traveled exhibitions. She is a frequent consultant for art exhibitions, authors, and historians. She has been awarded the Ohio Heritage Fellowship Award, National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, and United States Artists Fellowship, and was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame Museum. Mazloomi has written twelve books on African American quilting.
Website: www.carolynlmazloomi.com
Opening and Closing Remarks by Karen Hampton
Karen Hampton, an internationally recognized fiber artist, will open the Textile Society of America’s second session of the series (re)claiming futures. Karen’s insightful narratives on kinship and colorism using handwoven and pieced cloth rest on her belief that imagining the future is most impactful when done through the art form. Her work is a critical representation of a legion of individuals. Karen is an assistant professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, a 2022 American Craft Council Fellow, and one of the selected artists for the Westwood/UCLA Station Public art under the auspices of MetroArt Los Angeles.
Registration Information
Tuesday, May 24th, 2022
7:00 pm EDT/ 4:00 pm PDT
$10 TSA Members / $15 nonmembers
To become a TSA member and support programs like this, join here.
You will receive a Zoom link in your registration confirmation email.
A recording will be available to everyone who registers for 7 days after the event for later viewing.
For questions about the program or registration, contact Maggie D’Aversa margaretdaversa@gmail.com
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