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For Immediate Release
Quilting African American Women’s History Opening March 8
With Grand Opening Event
One of Three Quilt Shows Being Featured by the Ohio Historical Society
(Wilberforce, OH Feb. 22, 2008) - The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce is celebrating March as National Women’s History Month with the opening of its latest exhibit Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Challenges, Creativity, and Champions. The show is the nation’s largest African-American quilt exhibition featuring more than 100 contemporary quilts by some of the country’s best- known African-American fiber artists.
The quilts tell the stories of African-American women and their profound contributions to American society and their crucial role in the survival of their people from slavery to the present. The exhibit will run through Nov. 8 before touring other cities.
The show is curated by internationally known artist, author and historian Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi expressly for the National Afro-American Museum. “In Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Challenges, Creativity and Champions, the vitality of quilt making and the resilient, creative spirit of Black women come alive,” Mazloomi said. “Through the eye of a needle African-American women have found their voices and become authorities on their life experiences. The voices of African-American women are stitched into their quilts.”
The grand opening celebration will be March 8 from 6 – 9 p.m. Festivities will feature an overview of the exhibition and tours of the museum gallery. Mazloomi and 15 fiber artists will be available to discuss the show and their works. Natasha Williams of WHIO-TV will be the emcee for the evening. The event is free and open to the public.
Sponsors for the event are AK Steel Foundation and AEP Ohio, Ohio Arts Council, WHIO-TV 7 and the Greene County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Dayton.
The National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center is observing its 20th anniversary. Established in 1988 under the auspices of Ohio Historical Society, its mission is to educate the public about African American history and culture from the African origins to the present. The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center is located in historic Wilberforce, on Brush Row Road, one-half mile north of U.S. 42 and adjacent to Central State University.
A full-color catalogue and poster will accompany the exhibition. For more information about the grand opening, tour dates, and upcoming events, contact the National Afro-American Museum at 937.376.4944 or 800.752.2603.
Contemporary to Traditional-OHS Quilt Shows Showcase the Art of Storytelling
The Ohio Historical Society has stitched together a trio of quilt shows at its museums statewide for 2008. In addition to the contemporary art quilt exhibit, Quilting African American Women’s History, the Ohio Historical Society will be featuring two traditional quilt shows.
Quilting Stories at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, from June 1 through Oct. 12, will show how 19th-and 20th-century Ohio quilters used quilting to tell stories about family, heroes, celebrations and even political causes. The quilts on display are from the Ohio Historical Society's extensive collection of some 200 years of quilting in Ohio.
And finally, exhibiting at the Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Patterns from the Past: Quilts of Northern Ohio, will display 19th-to early 20th-century regionally-made quilts from June 7 through Jan. 4, 2009. In the 19th century, the State of Ohio was the nation’s frontier. Ohio’s population quickly became a patchwork of people. The mingling of quilting styles and influences seen in the quilts is a direct reflection of Ohio’s diverse early population. Enriching the exhibit are the stories of the quilt makers and the families who preserved these handcrafted legacies.
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history. For more information about the Ohio Historical Society and its programs, call 614.297.2300/800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.
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Media contact: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or kschuette@ohiohistory.org
or
Michael L. Sampson: 937-376-4944 x 117 or msampson@ohiohistory.org
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