Women of Color Quilters Network

Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN) is a national organization dedicated to preserving African American quiltmaking.

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History

The Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN) was founded in 1986 by Carolyn L. Mazloomi.

For many years in the early 1980s, Mazloomi had tried unsuccessfully to expand her circle of African American quilters. She eventually placed an advertisement in Quilter's Newsletter Magazine requesting correspondence with other quilters who shared this frustration. She received several responses to this advertisement, and the resulting correspondence led to the formation of the WCQN.Quilter's Exchange – Needle and Pin Pals.” Quilters Newsletter Magazine, February 1986, p. 41. Carolyn Mazloomi wishes to correspond with “Black quilters worldwide.”

Founding members of the WCQN included Mazloomi, Claire E. Carter, aRma Carter, Cuesta Benberry, Meloydy Boyd, Michael Cummings, Peggie Hartwell and Marie Wilson.

In 1992–1993, a survey of WCQN members, conducted by quilter Sandra German, indicated members had low expectations for fairness, acceptance, and success from traditional or mainstream quilting ventures (such as quilt guilds, magazines, and contests)."Surfacing: The Inevitable Rise of the Women of Color Quilters’ Network", in Uncovering 1993, ed. Laurel Horton, pp. 137 – 168. San Francisco: American Quilt Study Group, 1994.

Overview

The objectives of the organization include the fostering and preservation of the art of quilt making among people of color, researching quilt history and documenting quilts, and offering authentic, handmade African American quilts and fiber art to museums and galleries for exhibition.

WCQN membership surpassed 1,000 quilters from the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and England.Martin, Charles. “What's New and News in Quilting – Women of Color Network Membership Approaches 1,000.” Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, May 1996, p. 7.German, Sandra K. “Surfacing: The Inevitable Rise of the Women of Color Quilters’ Network” In Uncovering 1993, ed. Laurel Horton, pp. 137 – 168. San Francisco: American Quilt Study Group, 1994.

Many members specialize in narrative quilts on contemporary African-American themes because, as Mazloomi said, "we are a people with many stories to tell."Life's Thread Stitched Into Quilts,” by Patricial Leigh Brown, New York Times, April 04, 1996.[https://books.google.com/books?id=dfaPC_WSlNwC&dq=WCQN&pg=PA126 Crafted Lives] Google Books

Exhibitions

WCQN members continue to exhibit their quilts in community venues, local galleries and museums. In 2004, the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas, sponsored the traveling exhibition, Threads of Faith: Recent Works from the Women of Color Quilters Network.[http://mobia.org/exhibitions/threads-of-faith#slideshow1 Museum of Biblical Arts, Past Exhibitions.]

Hosted by the Michigan State University Museum, WCQN worked with fiber artists from South Africa to deliver a new exhibition entitled Conscience of the Human Spirit: The Life of Nelson Mandela in 2014. The exhibit featured textile artworks from many South African quilters to show how Mandela affected South African lives and the lives of African Americans.[https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=exhibits&kid=50-147-1 Quilt Index, Archive of Exhibits]

The WCQN in conjunction with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center toured an exhibit curated by Dr. Mazloomi entitled And Still We Rise: Race, Culture, and Visual Conversations across the United States including to The Bullock Museum for the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth in 2015. The exhibition features pictorial quilts depicting the history of African Americans from 1619 to the present.[https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/visit/exhibits/and-still-we-rise# The Bullock Museum, Exhibits] It was then toured to the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas from July 8, 2017 to September 17, 2017.[https://spencerart.ku.edu/exhibition/and-still-we-rise-race-culture-and-visual-conversations The University of Kansas' Spencer Museum of Art, Exhibitions] From October 6 to December 30, 2017, the exhibition toured to the Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia.[https://columbusmuseum.com/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/and-still-we-rise-race-culture-and-visual-conversations.html The Columbus Museum, Past Exhibitions] In 2018, from February 6 to May 27, the exhibition was shown at The California Museum in Sacramento.[https://www.californiamuseum.org/exhibit/and-still-we-rise-race-culture-and-visual-conversations The California Museum, Exhibit Page]

The Textile Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota in conjunction with the WCQN created a project titled We Are the Story which was shown in the textile center from March 26 to June 12, 2021. After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, WQCN put out a call for quilts for this project, and by the July 21st deadline, 423 quilts were submitted.[https://textilecentermn.org/wearethestory/ The Textile Center in Minneapolis, Page for We Are the Story] This project included exhibitions titled Gone but Never Forgotten: Remembering Those Lost to Police Brutality and Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist.[https://textilecentermn.org/wearethestory/ The Textile Center in Minneapolis, Page for We Are the Story] Gone but Never Forgotten consisted of 26 quilts depicting imagery related to Black victims of police brutality; the exhibition was showcased from September 15 to December 24, 2020 at the Textile Center's Joan Mondale Gallery, and from February 13 to April 1, 2021 at Lanesboro Arts in Lanesboro, Minnesota.[https://textilecentermn.org/gone-but-never-forgotten/ The Textile Center, Virtual Exhibition for Gone but Never Forgotten] Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist consisted of 63 quilts, often pictorial, depicting images and themes of perseverance and resistance of Black Americans.[https://textilecentermn.org/racism-virtualexhibition/ Textile Center, Virtual Exhibition for Racism: In the Face of Hate We Resist]

Publications

Women of Color Quilters Network Newsletters published from 1987 – 1993.
Threads of Faith: Recent Works from the Women of Color Quilters Network (2004)

Projects

The quilter Harriet Powers (1837-1910), formerly enslaved, stitched two quilts known to have survived: Bible Quilt 1886 and Pictorial Quilt 1898. Her quilts are considered among the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting.[http://www.earlywomenmasters.net/powers/index.html Harriet Powers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018043355/http://earlywomenmasters.net/powers/index.html |date=October 18, 2007 }}, Early Women Masters. Her works are in the permanent collections of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.

In December 2023, a new, commemorative memorial for Harriet and Armstead Powers was dedicated at the Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery. The memorial was sponsored by the Women of Color Quilters Network.{{cite news |last1=Carroll |first1=Nell |title=PHOTOS: Revered quilter is honored in Athens |url=https://www.ajc.com/news/aajc-120423-powers-gallery/KEQB4FCAGBF3ZMHDSBK34LG5OA/ |access-date=5 January 2024 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=4 Dec 2023 |language=English}}{{cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Rebecca |title=More than 100 years after her death, a revered quilter is honored in Athens |url=https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/more-than-100-years-after-her-death-a-revered-quilter-is-honored-in-athens/IGHQP7IHJZAVBOL6QXKT76RLTY/ |access-date=5 January 2024 |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=4 Dec 2023 |language=English}}{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Jesse |title=Ceremony held to commemorate Armstead and Harriet Powers' new headstone |url=https://www.redandblack.com/athensnews/ceremony-held-to-commemorate-armstead-and-harriet-powers-new-headstone/article_b8658318-923c-11ee-b574-8b2e1d8b3e20.html |access-date=5 January 2024 |work=The Red and Black |date=4 December 2023 |language=en}}

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!File:Harriet and Armstead Powers headstone back side Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery Athens GA.jpg

Other national quilting organizations

Since the founding of the WCQN, other national organizations formed to foster growth among African American quilters have been founded:

National Association of African American Quilters (1993–1995)Black Threads, Kyra Hicks, p. 119.
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/234346214039/members/ African American Quilters Group: Let's Grow to 1,000,000]