Textures of the Diaspora: Gee’s Bend Quilters and Candomblé Elders in Conversation

Across the African diaspora, how do textile arts, memory, and spirituality interweave? How do black women’s quilt- and lace-making traditions serve as ritual practices connecting folk religion and cultural identity?

“Textures of the Diaspora” lecture and community workshop is an investigation of black women’s cultural and spiritual heritage work across two African diaspora locations: Alabama, USA and Bahia, Brazil. Focusing on the varied uses of textile-based arts in Africana sacred ritual and ancestral communication, this program includes a moderated discussion among scholars and practitioners, a texile art demonstration, and an interactive workshop.

Hear from master quilter Mary Margaret Pettway from Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and Iyalorixá Valnizia de Ayra and Iawô Vandrea Amaral from the Terreiro do Cobre Candomblé Community in Bahia, Brazil. Our presenters from Alabama and Bahia will show their work and discuss the sacred dimensions of their artistic practice. During the second half of the program, event participants will convene in small groups where presenters will lead hands-on demonstrations of textile art techniques. Participants in the workshop portion of the program will learn basic elements of quilting and lace-making.

We are pleased to feature eminent experts from Alabama, Brazil and beyond!

Mary Margaret Pettway
Gee’s Bend Quilters Collective (Gee’s Bend, AL)

Iyalorixá Valnizia de Ayra and Iawô Vandrea Amaral
Terreiro do Cobre Candomblé (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil)

Euneika Rogers-Sipp, Co-Facilitator
Social Practice Artist and Director of The Ceremony Music and Events (Atlanta, GA)

Dr. Rachel Harding, Co-Facilitator
Associate Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions, Department of Ethnic Studies, University of Colorado (Denver, CO)

This event is organized by The Ceremony Music and Events in conjunction with the James Weldon Johnson Institute. The project is sponsored in part by a grant from the Emory College Center for Creativity and Arts’ David Goldwasser Series in Religion and the Arts.

Directions and Parking: Follow link.

For more information: jwji@emory.edu or 404-727-2926

This event if FREE, but you are asked to register via eventbrite ahead of time.