ART & AGENCY: Exploring  the African American Quilting Tradition

Africa International House USA, Inc.

Explore the cultural connectedness between Africans and African Americans as revealed through the Black quilt making tradition.

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts

Through a grant provided by the TERRA Foundation for American Art, Africa International House USA, Inc. in collaboration with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago will present a symposium Juneteenth weekend entitled ART &amp; AGENCY: Exploring the African American Quilting Tradition. The Saturday, June 18 hybrid symposium presentation will be streamed live from the Performance Penthouse at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts with virtual participation accessible from the AIH website. Due to limited seating, RSVP is required for the live event and reception. Doors open at 2:30pm.Multiple quilt exhibitions will be hosted by collaborating institutions including the DuSable Museum of African American History and Navy Pier. Virtual and live symposium registration and more information is available at www.AIHUSA.org.

Africa International House USA Inc. presents a Juneteenth Weekend Education Initiative SymposiumART &amp; AGENCY: Exploring the African American Quilting Tradition The symposium examines the quilting tradition from Africa to America and the ways quilts and quilting define the social, economic, and cultural agency of Black people.(Chicago) Through a grant provided by the TERRA Foundation for American Art, Africa International House USA, Inc. (AIH) in collaboration with the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago will present a symposium Juneteenth weekend entitled ART &amp; AGENCY: Exploring the African American Quilting Tradition. The Saturday, June 18 hybrid symposium presentation will be streamed live from the Penthouse at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts with virtual participation accessible from the AIH website. Multiple quilt exhibitions will be hosted by collaborating institutions including The DuSable Museum of African American History and NAVY PIER. Virtual and live symposium registration and more information is available at www.AIHUSA.org.“The theme of liberation is celebrated during the Juneteenth weekend which acknowledges the day when Texas slaves received word of their emancipation. The quilt symposium will explore the role of quilts in determining the freedom of US. slaves,” says Patrick Woodtor, co-founder of Africa International House USA, Inc. “We will also explore the transfer and evolution of quilting techniques and traditions that may have occurred during the trans-Atlantic slave experience and how, even today, agency among Black people is defined and actualized through quilts and quilt making.”This year, AIH celebrates the 33rd anniversary of its premier initiative, The African Festival of the Arts which has presented a Quilt Pavilion since the mid 1990’s. A 2019 MacArthur Foundation International Connections Fund Research and Planning Grant allowed AIH to visit Liberia and secure participation of the Liberian Quageh quilters for this symposium. Distinguished presenters and panelists include the following highly esteemed scholars, journalists, artists, art activists, social and political activists:Doris Barnes, Quilt Artist, Member- Needles &amp; Threads Quilt Guild of Chicago and coordinator of the African Festival of the Arts Quilt Pavilion.Maude Coker Davis, Founder - Quageh Liberian Quilters. The Liberian quilters produced quilts following the countries civil crisis to generate income to support their families. It’s believed their quilting tradition was passed on from repatriated slaves who went to Liberia through the American Colonization Society.Reneau Diallo, DNP, African Festival of the Arts Quilt Pavilion Founder, Quilt Artist and certified nurse-midwife. Her internationally exhibited quilts have been presented as diplomatic gifts and published by the American College of Nurse-Midwives in the book “Into the Light of Day” by Linda Holmes. Kim L. Dulaney, EdD, is the Director of Education and Programs. Dr. Dulaney is an African American Studies professor, cultural critic, writer, and cultural consultant.Pearlie M. Johnson, PhD, Independent Scholar. Dr. Johnson’s research traces the textile use and sewing methods used that link African quilting traditions to American traditions. Basil Kincaid, post-disciplinary visual artist. Kincaid makes quilts out of recycled materials and creates economic opportunities through The Reclamation Project in Ghana which focuses on valuing community, diversity, heritage, and inclusion all through a lens of creative recycling.Tracy L. Vaughn-Manley, PhD, Northwestern University, Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of African American Studies, Northwestern University &amp; Quilt Artist discusses the distinctive aspects that define the Black aesthetic quilting tradition and how quilting is used by Black women writers: Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, and others to assert individual/collective agency and build community.Sally Nuamah, PhD, assistant professor of Urban Politics in Human Development, Social Policy and Political Science (by courtesy) at Northwestern University, author of the critically acclaimed How Girls Achieve, listed as a Forbes Magazine 2019 '30 under 30' in education, and named Andrew Carnegie Fellow aka "The Brainy Award.”Shantay Robinson, symposium moderator, is a doctoral candidate at George Mason University, member of the inaugural class of Burnaway Magazine’s Art Writers Mentorship Program, a fellow at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies Digital Publishing Project Editorial Fellowship, was chosen for the CUE Art Foundation’s Art Critic Mentoring program and is a Black Art in American resident scholar.Jim Smoote II, is an internationally exhibited mixed media and fabric artist whose work captures life explores humor, contemporary urban images, pop cultural references and his work can be political or provocative.THE EXHIBITIONS Africa International House USA, Inc is honored to partner with the Smithsonian Institution affiliated DuSable Museum of African American History for this exhibition."Quilting is the art form that is most symbolic of African and African American - African diasporic culture where we take things that are considered scraps and we find beauty in them and we meld them together to make things that are useful, " said Kim L. Dulaney, EdD, Director of Education and Programs, The DuSable Museum of African American History. "So it aligns with the way we understand African centeredness; we’re together when we bind. We serve great purpose, and we are beautiful!"Navy Pier, one of Chicago’s largest tourist destinations, is also hosting an exhibition during peak tourism season June 10 through July 31.“Fundamental to our mission and identity as the People’s Pier is the celebration of the many cultures that define Chicago, and we’re especially appreciative of works that help people understand the journey of others,” said Erika Taylor, Navy Pier Vice President of Arts, Culture, and Engagement. “The quilts in the Art &amp; Agency exhibition live as visually stunning reminders of history, emblems of family, and profound symbols of interconnectedness.”The exhibitions feature quit art by members of the Needles and Threads Quilt Guild of Chicago, the Quageh Quilters from Liberia, West Africa and invited noted quilters including Dorothy Straughter, panelists Jim Smoote II, Tracy Vaughn-Manley and Reneau Diallo-cofounder of the African Festival of the Arts Quilt Pavilion.• The DuSable Museum of African American History, June 17-19, 11:00am- 4:00pm, 740 E. 56th Street • NAVY PIER, June 10-July 31 from 11:00am-9:00pm, Festival Hall Q, Terrace Level I, 600 E. Grand Avenue.• Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Saturday, June 18 from 10:00am-5:00pm, 930 E 50th Street • Africa International House Center for Contemporary African Culture, 10:00am-6:00pm, 6200 S. Drexel ABOUT AIH &amp; THE AFRICAN FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS QUILT PAVILIONAfrica International House USA, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving African based cultures while educating the public about Africa and its cultural contributions to humanity. Its premier initiative, the African Festival of the Arts celebrates its 33rd anniversary this year during the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Quilt Pavilion, a festival favorite destination, was introduced in the mid 90’s through the efforts of Reneau Diallo and the support of three extraordinary women and who were instrumental festival architects. The late Dee Palmer Woodtor, Linda Murray who garnered support of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in favor of the Quilt Pavilion and AIH Board member Bernice Gardner. This ART &amp; AGENCY symposium and corresponding events are presented in recognition of their contributions. Throughout the year, AIH collaborates with mission aligned institutions to advance its mission. The Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, the DuSable Museum of African American History, NAVY PIER, South Side Community Art Center, Black Art in America and Pigment International are all long-standing partners.ABOUT NEEDLES AND THREADSThe Needles and Threads Quilter Guild of Chicago’s goals and mission are to promote the love of quilting, promote the growth and development in the art and craft of quilting, to assemble quilters for the purpose of sharing ideas and skills, to give quilters the opportunity to learn various techniques and styles of quilting through demonstrations and instructions, and to support the community by providing service to Illinois charitable non-profit organizations.ABOUT THE TERRA FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN ARTThe Terra Foundation for American Art supports individuals, organizations, and communities to advance expansive understandings of American art. Established in 1978 and headquartered in Chicago with an office in Paris, The Terra Foundation is committed to fostering cross-cultural dialogues on American art locally, nationally, and internationally, through its grant program collection, and initiatives.

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ART & AGENCY: Exploring the African American Quilting Tradition

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