And Still We Rise

And Still We Rise: African American Story Quilts narrates four centuries of African American history through the display of nearly 70 handcrafted story quilts created by an international group of artists from the Women of Color Quilters Network. An art form that goes beyond simple quilting patterns, story quilting expands on traditional textile-arts techniques to record, in fabric, events of personal or historical significance. Works in this exhibition give voice to the unique histories of African American men and women and relate the stories of enslaved people, soldiers, athletes, poets, political leaders, and many others while also drawing attention to social challenges America continues to face today.

A traveling exhibition on view in the MSV Changing Exhibitions Gallery from September 9 through December 31, 2016, And Still We Rise is curated by artist, historian, and director of the Women of Color Quilter’s Network Carolyn Mazloomi, PhD, and organized by Cincinnati Museum Center, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and the Women of Color Quilters Network. The exhibition’s display in the MSV is sponsored by BB&T and  Shenandoah Country Q102 and presented in collaboration with the Winchester Area NAACP.

Above Gallery: 240 Million African Slaves Ago [detail], 2012, Valarie Pratt Poitier; “42” Dedicated  to Jackie Robinson [detail], 2012–2013, Bisa Butler East Orange, New Jersey; Lest We Forget: Tribute to James Cameron (Homage to a Great Teacher) [detail], 2010, Dorothy I. Burge Chicago, Illinois. Julett Miles at the River’s Edge [detail], 2008, Valerie C. White, Denver, Colorado. United [detail], (2012), Sharon Kerry-Harlan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.