Quilt museum talks two exhibits highlighting African American history | Uncategorized

PADUCAH — The National Quilt Museum in downtown Paducah held a Meet the Artist reception Tuesday for two exhibitions highlighting African American history and Black experiences.

Patricia Montgomery, the artist for “Tribute to the Civil Rights Movement: Quilted Swing Coats,” along with O.V. Brantleu, Patra Jones, Janda Lipker and Rebecca Lipker, artists for the exhibition “Say Your Piece: Black Women: The Mothers, Martyrs, and Misunderstood,” were set to be in attendance at Tuesday’s event.

The free event gave an opportunity for the community to see these exhibits and chat with the artists about their work and inspirations. Light snacks and refreshments, and live music was also planned.

Matt Collinsworth, CEO of the National Quilt Museum, said these exhibitions, like the rest of the museum’s collection, are examples of the engaging, exemplary, profound work being created by today’s quilters.

“Here at the National Quilt Museum, we strive to provide diverse content that’s curated from an egalitarian spirit, and I think these two shows are examples of that,” Collinsworth said.

When Montgomery told National Quilt Museum staff she would be coming from her home state of California to view her exhibition in the museum, Collinsworth said her visit lined up well with the opening of the “Say Your Piece” exhibit, which opened earlier this week. This provided the museum an opportunity to invite and honor multiple artists and their work.

Montgomery’s exhibition “Tribute to the Civil Rights Movement” featured historical story quilts that have been transformed into swing coats representing people from the Civil Rights Movement. Largely, her pieces feature the stories of lesser-known African American women and their contributions to one of the largest social movements of the 20th century.

While Montgomery’s 19 quilted swing coats are not traditional quilts, Collinsworth said the quilting work in the art display is spectacular, and each of the pieces in the collection tells a story about different women in the Civil Rights Movement many people may not know about.

“Black Women: The Mothers, Martyrs and Misunderstood,” is curated by National Quilt Museum Director of Equitable Partnerships Stacey Watson. This exhibition is the first installation of “Say Your Piece,” a three-part exhibition series that combines shared stories, personal experiences, history and education. Collinsworth said this is Watson’s first curated collection for the quilt museum and said she has done an excellent job curating the pieces around a theme and message she is passionate about.

One of the quilts featured in “Black Women: The Mothers, Martyrs and Misunderstood,” is Jones’ quilt “Maternal Mortality-3x’s Higher,” which is dedicated “to the many beautiful women who lost their lives in the United States maternal health system.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the maternal mortality rate for Non-Hispanic Black women in 2020 was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, compared to 19.1 deaths per 100,000 live births for Non-Hispanic white women.

“Every woman of color deserves to have a birth experience,” Jones said in a press release.

“Tribute to the Civil Rights Movement: Quilted Swing Coats” will be on display at the National Quilt Museum through Nov. 1. “Say Your Piece: Black Women: The Mothers, Martyrs, and Misunderstood” will be on display through Feb. 21.