
Community Fabric: African American Quilts and Folk Art
February 13, 1994 - April 10, 1994

Community Fabric: African American Quilts and Folk Art
February 13, 1994 - April 10, 1994
This exhibition examines the dynamics of community traditions and aesthetics using a group of important, recently documented quilts,
carvings, drawings, and other decorative arts produced by African American artisans working in the rural South from 1900 to 1980. These
examples are discussed in light of the contexts and inspirations of their makers and the communities which played a role in their creation.
Traditional aspects of color and pattern usage, subject matter, as well as the diversity and variety of singular creative impulses, often seen in
the work of African American Folk artisans, will be illustrated and discussed. Narratives from many of the artisans and craftsmen, together
with the objects produced by them, document a lively combination of the strong cultural and visual legacy present in the African American
folk community combined with the wealth of creativity and improvisation demonstrated by the individual artisans and craftsmen inspired by
these traditions.
was organized in collaboration with Dr. Maude Southwell Wahlman.
Support
CoreStates
The Pew Charitable Trusts
Curators
Jack L. Lindsey
Dilys E. Blum