New Exhibit On Tap At Quilt Museum
February 16, 2018
With February being Black History Month, it was only fitting for Harrisonburg’s Virginia Quilt Museum to open their 2018 season with exhibits celebrating the quilts of different cultures.
“On Feb. 20, we’re going to open with all new exhibits,” said Jenny Miller, interim co-director of the museum. “The exhibits are going to feature African-American quilt artists and African inspired art quilts.”
In the Warren Gallery of the museum, Hollis Chatelain, an award-winning artist, presents “Stories of West Africa,” a presentation depicting West African people in their everyday lives.
“The art quilts are coming from an internationally known art quilter,” Miller said. “She’s been featured in many publications, magazines and museums; she’s a star, so we’re excited about that.”
According to a statement from Chatelain on the Quilt Museum’s website, “My choice of textiles as a medium suggests an intimacy and softness, while expressing the sparkle and joy of the people. My drawings are based on photographs I took while living in Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Benin. These colored pencil illustrations were printed on fabric using the latest digital technology, and then quilted with hundreds of colored threads.”
In Galleries 1, 2 and 3 of the museum, the exhibit, “African American Quilters: Stitching our Stories in New and Traditional Expressions,” will be on display, curated by Wilma Gerald, a member of the museum’s board of directors.
“The African-American quilts are curated by a woman who lives in the Virginia Beach area,” Miller said. “She’s curated here before.”
The museum’s curator, Gloria Comstock, added, “They are quilts that are by contemporary quilt artists telling about the black story. They are talking about personal experiences. It could even be an amazing event or a feeling.”
The quilts in this exhibit have been submitted by artists from all over the country and will be on display for the first time when the Quilt Museum’s doors open on Feb. 20.
“It was, what we call in the quilt world, a ‘call,’” Comstock said. “It was by invitation only. She was familiar with this community, and so she extended invitations to the quilt makers that she felt would best satisfy the mission of this exhibit.”
As Comstock explained, the museum was looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month so they approached Gerald because of her contacts in the quilt world.
Gallery 6 and the hallway of the museum will feature “Treasures from the Vault: Itty Bitty Pieces of Paper,” which will focus on quilts that have a local flavor.
“That’s what we try to do is hit a variety of interests,” Miller said. “We like to try to do local quilts, with Black History Month we try to tie into that, we try to tie into modern and antique quilts. We try to appeal to a wide variety of visitors.”
In the “Itty Bitty Pieces” exhibit, all the quilts on display will also have pieces of paper with notes on them telling the stories of the people who made the quilts. For example, a quilt on display, titled, “Log Cabin Crib Quilt,” will tell about the quilt maker Dianna Young Richards. A Page County resident, Richards was born in 1844 and died in 1917. There is also a picture of Richards with her husband, John Richards, to accompany the quilt.
Another exhibit that will be on display at the museum is “Wrapped in History — The Search for Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers: The Jenny and David Powers Collection.” In Galleries 4 and 5, Pam Pampe will curate this exhibit, focusing on quilts made in the Shenandoah Valley preserved by the families of Jenny and David Powers.
“African Textiles” will be curated by Paula Golden in Galleries A and B and, as the museum explains on their website, “This exhibit explores the textiles of Africa and represents the beautiful diversity of design, culture and history present in the woven, dyed and printed fabrics.”
As Miller said, the location of the Quilt Museum is very important because of the wide array of options that are nearby for people who want to partake in quilting or for people who are looking for different types of tourist venues.
“If we’re talking locally, in our area, we have a wide variety of fabric and quilt shops,” she said. “A lot of areas don’t have but one, and it might be 30 or 40 miles away. We have five within a 20-mile radius. In the Shenandoah Valley, we have a lot of people interested in quilting. Beyond that, we get a lot of visitors from out of state who are looking for something interesting to do, and the Quilt Museum fits that bill.”
The current exhibits will be at the Quilt Museum at 301 S. Main St. until May 12, when they will be taken down and replaced with Exhibit 2, which will feature four different shows and run from May 22 to Sept. 8.
For more information, visit the museum's website or call 540-433-3818.
“Fabrics for Sale” is a piece by Hollis Chatelain that will be on display as part of the Virginia Quilt Museum’s newest exhibits.
“On Feb. 20, we’re going to open with all new exhibits,” said Jenny Miller, interim co-director of the museum. “The exhibits are going to feature African-American quilt artists and African inspired art quilts.”
In the Warren Gallery of the museum, Hollis Chatelain, an award-winning artist, presents “Stories of West Africa,” a presentation depicting West African people in their everyday lives.
“The art quilts are coming from an internationally known art quilter,” Miller said. “She’s been featured in many publications, magazines and museums; she’s a star, so we’re excited about that.”
According to a statement from Chatelain on the Quilt Museum’s website, “My choice of textiles as a medium suggests an intimacy and softness, while expressing the sparkle and joy of the people. My drawings are based on photographs I took while living in Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Benin. These colored pencil illustrations were printed on fabric using the latest digital technology, and then quilted with hundreds of colored threads.”
In Galleries 1, 2 and 3 of the museum, the exhibit, “African American Quilters: Stitching our Stories in New and Traditional Expressions,” will be on display, curated by Wilma Gerald, a member of the museum’s board of directors.
“The African-American quilts are curated by a woman who lives in the Virginia Beach area,” Miller said. “She’s curated here before.”
The museum’s curator, Gloria Comstock, added, “They are quilts that are by contemporary quilt artists telling about the black story. They are talking about personal experiences. It could even be an amazing event or a feeling.”
The quilts in this exhibit have been submitted by artists from all over the country and will be on display for the first time when the Quilt Museum’s doors open on Feb. 20.
“It was, what we call in the quilt world, a ‘call,’” Comstock said. “It was by invitation only. She was familiar with this community, and so she extended invitations to the quilt makers that she felt would best satisfy the mission of this exhibit.”
As Comstock explained, the museum was looking for a way to celebrate Black History Month so they approached Gerald because of her contacts in the quilt world.
Gallery 6 and the hallway of the museum will feature “Treasures from the Vault: Itty Bitty Pieces of Paper,” which will focus on quilts that have a local flavor.
“That’s what we try to do is hit a variety of interests,” Miller said. “We like to try to do local quilts, with Black History Month we try to tie into that, we try to tie into modern and antique quilts. We try to appeal to a wide variety of visitors.”
In the “Itty Bitty Pieces” exhibit, all the quilts on display will also have pieces of paper with notes on them telling the stories of the people who made the quilts. For example, a quilt on display, titled, “Log Cabin Crib Quilt,” will tell about the quilt maker Dianna Young Richards. A Page County resident, Richards was born in 1844 and died in 1917. There is also a picture of Richards with her husband, John Richards, to accompany the quilt.
Another exhibit that will be on display at the museum is “Wrapped in History — The Search for Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers: The Jenny and David Powers Collection.” In Galleries 4 and 5, Pam Pampe will curate this exhibit, focusing on quilts made in the Shenandoah Valley preserved by the families of Jenny and David Powers.
“African Textiles” will be curated by Paula Golden in Galleries A and B and, as the museum explains on their website, “This exhibit explores the textiles of Africa and represents the beautiful diversity of design, culture and history present in the woven, dyed and printed fabrics.”
As Miller said, the location of the Quilt Museum is very important because of the wide array of options that are nearby for people who want to partake in quilting or for people who are looking for different types of tourist venues.
“If we’re talking locally, in our area, we have a wide variety of fabric and quilt shops,” she said. “A lot of areas don’t have but one, and it might be 30 or 40 miles away. We have five within a 20-mile radius. In the Shenandoah Valley, we have a lot of people interested in quilting. Beyond that, we get a lot of visitors from out of state who are looking for something interesting to do, and the Quilt Museum fits that bill.”
The current exhibits will be at the Quilt Museum at 301 S. Main St. until May 12, when they will be taken down and replaced with Exhibit 2, which will feature four different shows and run from May 22 to Sept. 8.
For more information, visit the museum's website or call 540-433-3818.
“Fabrics for Sale” is a piece by Hollis Chatelain that will be on display as part of the Virginia Quilt Museum’s newest exhibits.
