NCWC News: Old African American Quilts To Be Exhibited At North Carolina Wesleyan College

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January 08, 2003

Old African American Quilts To Be Exhibited At

North Carolina Wesleyan College

Rocky Mount, N.C.—An exhibit of 30 African-American quilts created between about 1860 and 1947 will open at North Carolina Wesleyan College on January 20 in the Mims Gallery of the Dunn Center for the Performing Arts. The opening of the display, which will run through March 14, will be one of several events at Wesleyan on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

A Unity Breakfast honoring King and co-sponsored by Wesleyan, the City of Rocky Mount, and several commercial sponsors will begin at 7 a.m. in the Dunn Center, followed by a program at 7:30 a.m. The quilt exhibit will open at 9:30 a.m. with breakfast-style refreshments. A free 32-page color catalog about the quilts will be available to gallery visitors.

Three essays with the exhibit will describe the importance of the collection as a source of study in African-American history and art. An essay by the collectors, Dr. Everette James and his wife, Dr. Nancy Jane Farmer, of Chapel Hill, explains how Underground Railroad symbols influenced their collecting. Other essays by art historians explain how traditional African art shaped quilting styles and how the quilts on display present clues to African-American life during the Reconstruction and New South periods in American history.

Guided tours of the Mims Gallery are welcome. Hours are 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For additional information or to schedule a tour, call 252-985-5268.

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