African Canadian Quilts on exhibit in Toronto

Stitching Community: African Canadian Quilts From Southern Ontario in Toronto is on exhibit until September 6, 2010 at the Royal Ontario Museum. According to the museum's website:

"This exhibition uses quilts made from 1848 to 1976 to explore the role of African Canadian women in reinforcing community ties in new and unfamiliar settings. It addresses the notion of developing social and familial ties through quilts while mainly focusing on the African Canadian community in North Buxton, a community whose foundation owes much to the freed slaves who settled in Canada, the land of freedom.

The exhibition is comprised of artifacts loaned from the Buxton Museum and items from the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS), including quilts, photographs, tools of the trade, and a variety of black cloth dolls." Enjoy!

Learning to Fly - Canadian Sistah Quilters

On display at the Marigod Art Gallery in Nova Scotia, Canada is the exhibit, "Learning to Fly," curated by David Woods. This show highlights contemporary quilts by Nova Scotia Sistah Quilters Myla Borden, Marlene Dorrington, Debra Jordan, Bolivia Czernon, Alfreda Smith, Kathy Lusk, and Laurel Francis. The exhibit is on display from February 16 - March 16, 2008.

You can read previous Black Threads blog posts about these Sistahs north of the border. Click here to read more!

Comicbook Lady Quilt

Thanks to Comic Book Lady - a quilter and co-owner of a comic book store in Canada for providing insights into what kind of quilt Wonder Woman would stitch! (See comments in the post below.) Take a moment to visit the Comicbook Lady blog. Enjoy!

When Black Women Useta' Fly - 2002 show

More from the quilting Sistahs in Canada! In 2002, the Black Artists' Network of Nova Scotia hosted a quilt exhibit with a FABULOUS title - When Black Women Useta' Fly. There were nearly 30 pieces in the show. Do check out the link to the online exhibit catalog and treat yourself to the quilts stitched by Jean Archer, Myla Borden, Edith Mae Colley, Ada Cromwell, Bolivia Czermon, Frances Dorrington, Marlene Dorrington (the photo is of her gorgeous Magic Tile Quilt), Pearl Glasgow, Helen Morrison, and weaver Dr. Daurene Lewis. Enjoy!

"In This Place" 1998 Canadian Black Art

.............................................................................. .................... In 1998 BANNS - the Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia - presented a marvelous exhibit of Canadian Black Art, including quilts. Visit the online catalog for the 1998 show, In This Place. Canadian Sistah quilters in the show include: Myla Borden (The photo here is of her quilt In This House), Bolivia Czernon, Frances Dorrington, Wanda Elms, Katherine Gero, Pearl Glasgow, Alfreda Smith, and Maisy Scott.

Other Canadian artists include painters Justin Augustine, Beverly Bowden, Kim Cain, Mary Leakea Ogaa, and David Woods. Basket maker Clara Gough (who created the Basket Figure man in photo), sculptor Patrick Jarvis, ceramic artist Derrill Robinson, and a dozen other artists were also featured. Enjoy!

Sistah Quilters in Nova Scotia

Sistah Quilters displayed their fabric creations for the first time at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, Canada. David Woods, the associate creator of African Canadian art at the gallery, introduced the show, ‘Our Ancestors Garden.’ Margot Morrison helped organize the show, according a Nova News article. Other Canadian Sistah quilters featured include: Helen Morrison, Phyllis Richards, Rose Jarvis, and others. Also on exhibit at the AGNS - Mary Lee Bendolph - Gee's Bend Quilts & Beyond. Do check out the photos by Jonathan Riley from the exhibit! (Shown here are Elizabeth Carter and Jocelyn LeBlanc.) Best wishes to the Sistah Canadian Quilters!

Textured: Quilts from the African Diaspora

Textured: Quilts from the African Diaspora is a multimedia exhibit, curated by Julie Crooks, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This National Film Board of Canada (Montreal) exhibit features historic quilts from the Buxton Historical Museum, quilts from private collections, and quilts by contemporary quilt maker Quita Alfred, who is a costume designer in Canada. Check out her website, InQb8, to see her many quilts (like the one to the left).

The Textured: Quilts from the African Diaspora exhibit closes on Saturday evening after the reception unveiling an African Disaspora-inspired quilt created during workshops held in honor of the show. Quilt historian Sharon Irving ( master thesis "African-Canadian Quilts of Southern Ontario, 1840-1920") led the weekly quiltmaking workshops. Enjoy!