It is with profound personal sadness that I share this news. Our Sister Quilter Gwendolyn Magee passed away after an illness. For those who had the privilege to see Gwen’s magnificent art quilts, hear her infectious laughter, or read her art commentaries, you’ll know what a great loss we’ll experience.Gwen, from Jackson, Mississippi, was an award winning quilt artist: · 2011 – Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts http://www.arts.state.ms.us/special-projects/governors-awards.php
· 2007 – Ford Fellow, United States Artists http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/user/gwenmagee
· 2006 – “Honored Artist,” Mississippi State Committee, National Museum of Women in the Arts.
· 2003 – Visual Arts of the Year – Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters
Gwen also inspired many textile artists and quilters nationally through her online outreach efforts. She was among the first to create a website dedicated to quilting and textiles by minorities worldwide. She owned and operated from 1999 - 2007 QuiltEthnic.com (http://quiltethnic.com), a leading textile history website. Additionally, she hosted the informative, creative, and instructional blog Textile Arts Resource Guide (http:creativityjourney.blogspot.com).
Gwen’s marvelous, emotional creativity was shared through her art and story quilts. Photographer and folklorist Roland Freeman was among the first to document Gwen’s quilts in the landmark book, Communion of the Spirits (1997). Her quilts were also included in such exhibitions as: Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary Quilts by African American Artists (1999), Threads of Faith (2004), Honored Women Artists of Mississippi: A Retrospective (2007), Sou’s Journey: Inside the Creative Process (2009), Tradition/Innovations: American Masterpieces of Southern Craft & Traditional Art (2008), and more.
Gwen’s work was also documented in the solo traveling exhibition and catalog Journey of the Spirit: The Art of Gwendolyn A. Magee (2004 – 2007). You can see her artwork on Black Artists in America (http://blackartinamerica.com/profile/GwenMagee) or her own website (http://gwenmagee.com/). Here is a link to a article about Gwen from the Jackson Free Press newspaper: click here.
Gwen is survived by her loving husband, Magee (that’s all I ever heard her call him!), her two daughters, a son-in-law, two grandsons, and a host of other family and friends.
A memorial service for is set for 5 p.m. May 6 at the Mississippi Museum of Art: 380 South Lamar Street, Jackson, MS 39201. Tel: 601-960-1515.
