Women of Color Quilters Network facts for kids
The Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN) is a national group that works to keep the art of African American quiltmaking alive and well. It helps share the amazing stories and history told through quilts made by people of color.
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How WCQN Started
The Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN) was created in 1986 by a talented quilter named Carolyn L. Mazloomi.
In the early 1980s, Carolyn wanted to connect with more African American quilters, but it was hard to find them. So, she put an advertisement in a magazine called Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. She asked other quilters who felt the same way to write to her. Many people responded, and their letters led to the start of the WCQN!
Some of the first members of WCQN included Carolyn Mazloomi, Claire E. Carter, aRma Carter, Cuesta Benberry, Meloydy Boyd, Michael Cummings, Peggie Hartwell, and Marie Wilson.
Around 1992-1993, a survey of WCQN members showed that many felt they wouldn't be treated fairly or have much success in regular quilting groups, magazines, or contests. This showed how important WCQN was for them.
What WCQN Does
The main goals of the WCQN are:
- To encourage and protect the art of quilt making among people of color.
- To research the history of quilts and keep records of them.
- To offer real, handmade African American quilts and fiber art to museums and art galleries for people to see.
The WCQN has grown a lot! It now has over 1,000 quilters from the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and England.
Many members of the WCQN create narrative quilts. These are quilts that tell stories, often about modern African American life. As Carolyn Mazloomi once said, "we are a people with many stories to tell."
Amazing Quilt Shows
WCQN members often show their beautiful quilts in local galleries, community centers, and museums.
- In 2004, the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas, hosted a traveling show called Threads of Faith: Recent Works from the Women of Color Quilters Network.
- In 2014, the WCQN worked with artists from South Africa and the Michigan State University Museum to create a new show. It was called Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela. This exhibit featured textile art from many South African quilters. It showed how Mandela influenced lives in South Africa and for African Americans.
- The WCQN also worked with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to create an exhibit called And Still We Rise: Race, Culture, and Visual Conversations. This show traveled across the United States. It even went to The Bullock Museum in 2015 for the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth. The exhibit features quilts that show the history of African Americans from 1619 up to today. It later traveled to the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas in 2017 and the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia later that year. In 2018, it was shown at The California Museum in Sacramento.
- In 2021, the Textile Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, teamed up with WCQN for a project called We Are the Story. This project was shown at the Textile Center from March 26 to June 12, 2021. After the death of George Floyd in May 2020, WCQN asked quilters to submit quilts for this project. By the deadline, 423 quilts were sent in! This project included two special exhibits:
- Gone but Never Forgotten: Remembering Those Lost to Violence Involving Police. This part had 26 quilts showing images related to Black people who lost their lives in incidents involving police. It was shown from September to December 2020 at the Textile Center and then in Lanesboro, Minnesota, in early 2021.
- Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist. This part featured 63 quilts, often with pictures, showing themes of strength and standing up against challenges faced by Black Americans.
Special Projects
The WCQN also supports important projects. For example, they helped honor the quilter Harriet Powers (1837-1910). Harriet was formerly enslaved and made two famous quilts that still exist today: Bible Quilt 1886 and Pictorial Quilt 1898. Her quilts are considered some of the best examples of quilting from the Southern part of the country in the 1800s. Her works are kept in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
In December 2023, a new memorial was dedicated to Harriet and Armstead Powers at the Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery. The Women of Color Quilters Network helped pay for this special memorial.
Other Quilting Groups
Since the WCQN was founded, other national groups have also started to help African American quilters grow and share their art. Some of these include:
- National Association of African American Quilters (active from 1993 to 1995)
- African American Quilters Group: Let's Grow to 1,000,000
See also
- African-American art
- Quilts of Gee's Bend
- Souls Grown Deep Foundation
Images for kids
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Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery Historical Marker, Athens, Georgia
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Harriet and Armstead Powers headstone front side, dedicated December 2, 2023.
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Harriet and Armstead Powers headstone back side of memorial.
