124th Annual American Historical Association Meetings - Quilts will be discussed

On January 1, 1910 - yes, one hundred years ago - Sistah quilter Harriet Powers passed away in Athens, GA. And, she's still on our minds.

At the 124th Annual American Historical Association Meeting to be held January 7 - 10, 2010 in San Diego, CA, there will be a quilt-related panel discussion titled "Ethnicity and Authenticity: Re-Evaluating Iconic Quilts. This panel is chaired by Patricia Crews, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The commentator for this two hour discussion will be Vincent A. Brown, Harvard University. On the panel will be:

• Janet Catherine Berlo, Professor of Art History and Visual and Cultural Studies at University of Rochester (NY) will present: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and the Invention of an African-Centered Quilt History.
• Janneken Smucker, University of Delaware will present "Outsourcing Authenticity: Factory-Made Quilts and the Question of Ethnicity." This paper will examine the controversy from the late 1980s/early 1990s when institutions such as the American Folk Art Museum and the Smithsonian Institution licensed some of their historic quilts to be reproduced in non-US factories. (You might remember when Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt was reproduced. You can still find copies sometimes on eBay.)
• Marsha MacDowell, Michigan State University Museum in East Lansing, MI will present "Quilts, Primary Sources, and Authenticity." She examines how "Hidden in Plainview", the book by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard about quilts made to signal pathways on the Underground Railroad, went from one person's story to this "truth" now being taught to generations of school children. Specifically, the "paper will examine how voices of authority (i.e. museums, historical societies, holders of Ph.D.s, classroom teachers, academic organizations, government officials, in other words, those individuals and organizations that we have been taught to trust) have played a complicit role in endorsing and perpetuating this story as truth." [I would LOVE to also hear this paper in person as I do not believe there were such map quilts. In all my research about African American quilters and quilting based on articles and documents from the 1800s, I've never come across ONE about such quilts... but that's another blog post!]
  

The conference will include other non-quilt topics:

• "Is Google Good for History" - a panel discussion lead by Shawn Martin, Univ of PA, Daniel J. Cohen, Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, Paul Duguid, UC Berkeley, and Brandon Badger from Google Books.
  
• "Talking about Teaching American Women's History: Ideas, Innovations, Ideologies" - a panel discussion lead by Steven D. Reschly, Truman State University, Lyz Bly, Case Western Reserve University, Leslie J. Lindenauer, Western Connecticut State University, Margaret A. Lowe, Bridgewater State College, Renee M. Sentilles also of Case Western Reserve, and Tracey M. Weis of Millersville University.
  

Sounds like it will be an interesting conference! Enjoy!

International Quilt Study Group Symposium - April 3, 2009

The annual International Quilt Study Group Symposium is set for April 2 - 4, 2009 in Lincoln, NE. The theme of the weekend is The Global Quilt: Cultural Contexts. The schedule of speakers looks outstanding! Of interest to Black Threads blog readers might be:

• Symbolism & Community - Presenters: 1. Myrah Brown Green, The Presence of African Symbols in Contemporary North American Quilts; 2. Judy Bales, Fractal Geometry in African American Quilts; 3. Pearlie Johnson, The Power of Feminism in Fabric Art: A Celebration of Motherhood, Sisterhood, and the Matriarchs; and 4. Richard Caro, Quiltmaking and the Online Guild
• Renewing & Reinterpreting Tradition - Presenters: 1. Marsha MacDowell, Quiltmaking in South Africa; 2. Gwen Wanigasekera, British Origins, American Traditions, South Pacific Influences: Quilts in Aotearoa, New Zealand; and 3. Laurel Horton, Swedish Quilts in the Context of the Hemslojd (Handcraft) Movement
• Cultural Cross-overs - Presenters: 1. Dorothy Osler; 2. Janneken Smucker, "Qui sont les Amish?": Europeans and the American-ness of Quilts; and 3. Colleen Hall-Patton, Ethnic Quilting Traditions in Magazine Articles
• Aesthetic Consciousness - Presenters: 1. Leigh Fullner, A Comparative Study of Slave Trade-era African Textiles and African-American; 2. Kathleen Moore, Defining African-American Quilts: Are the Commentators at Cross Purposes?; 3. Teri Klassen, Quilt Aesthetics and Cultural Values in the Mid 1900s Rural U.S. South; and 4. Mary Worrall, The Cuesta Benberry African and African American Quilt and Ephemera Collections
  

Enjoy!

Get Listed - Quilting Directory

Belinda in Atlanta, GA is compiling a directory of resources for workshops, classes, lectures, and quilting services related to African American quilting. If you'd like to participate, contact Belinda directly at auntbequilts@bellsouth.net. The deadline is October 15, 2008. Enjoy!

1.9 million African American Quilters

According to the Quilting in American study, there are 27.7 million quilters in the United States. The quilters spent more than $3.3 BILLION on quilting expenditures. The industry survey has been taken once every three years since 1994. The 2006 survey, according to one of the researchers I corresponded with, indicated that 7.1% of Quilting Households are African American. I've been tracking these figures since 1997. In the US today, that translates into an estimated 1.9 million Black Quilters. Wow!

Gwen Slams with Textile Arts Resource Guide Blog!

Gwen Magee SLAMS with her new blog - Textile Arts Resource Guide - the invaluable reference to online resources for artists like us who LOVE fabrics and textiles. A few blog topics include:

* Regional Art Councils - comprehensive list, including fellowships!
* State Art Councils - state-by-state URL listing!

Gwen Magee's own narrative and abstract quilts are featured on the full-length book, Journey Of The Spirit: The Art Of Gwendolyn A. Magee. Or, you can visit her website at GwenMagee.com. Enjoy!

Gee's Bend Quilts - Books & Research

Here a quick list of books featuring Gee's Bend Quilts and Quilters:

Beardsley, John. Gee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Atlanta, Ga: Tinwood Books, 2002.

Satchwell, Margaret Beth. Beyond Aesthetics: The Quilts of Gee's Bend and Public Experience of American Folk Culture. Project (B.A.)--James Madison University, 2005

Cubbs, Joanne, et al. Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee's Bend Quilts, and Beyond. Atlanta, Georgia: Tinwood Books, 2006.

Arnett, William, et al. Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Atlanta, GA: Tinwood Books, 2006.

Callahan, Nancy. The Freedom Quilting Bee. Tuscaloosa, Ala: University of Alabama Press, 1987. (Fire Ant Books; new edition, 2005)

Auburn University's Women's Studies program (in Alabama) "undertook an ongoing interdisciplinary project to study the Quilts of Gee's Bend and develop strategies and materials for making them a part of the cultural education of Alabama’s – and America’s – children." Excellent reference website.