Black History Month: Stevenson University Exhibit Showcases African American Quilters
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (WJZ) -- This Black History Month, Stevenson University has opened up an art exhibit for two African American quilters to showcase their work.
This type of intricate artwork doesn't always get the recognition it deserves, and that's why the university decided to give the artists a platform.
The artists are Rosalind Robinson and Glenda Richardson. Their friendship has been woven together through quilting for nearly 30 years, and now they are using their experience to expose the next generation to the historical significance of quilting.
"African Americans have been quilting since we reached these shores. It was a way of using material that had been maybe discarded from someone you were working for and making something beautiful out of them," Richardson said. "It was something that kept people warm in a house that had a potbelly stove. Historically speaking, a lot of the quilts were made out of that necessity to make a way out of no way."
The exhibit is displayed prominently in the lobby of the School of Design. Stevenson University wants to use this exhibit as a teachable moment for the next generation of artists.
"This has been a really fantastic opportunity to open up what is a fine arts institution to people who have been historically been excluded, and to art techniques that have been considered lesser in the past," said gallery curator Aden Weisel.
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The African American Quilters of Baltimore group has been around since 1989. As the women continue to stitch together their family history, they hope to catch the eye of a new generation.
"When my family looks at these jeans they see the jeans that they wore at a certain period in time," Robinson said.
The free exhibit runs all throughout February and March at Stevenson University's School of Design Gallery, 11100 Ted Herget Way (formerly known as Gundry Lane), Owings Mills.
The artists will also attend an Artists' Talk event on Wednesday March 4, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
