Join us for a time of sisterhood, exploration and fun during Juneteenth weekend, June 15–17, 2023. Featuring a variety of workshops from some of the top quilting professionals in the country and a pop-up quilt show, this event is an opportunity to explore African American quilting, network and celebrate the legacy of Juneteenth. Note that the conference is designed for individuals who identify as African American. The public is welcome to attend the pop-up quilt show, “Deconstructing the Mammy Archetype Through African American Art Quiltwork” (Exhibition + Reception) on Friday, June 16, from 6:00 – 9:00 at The Fruit, 305 S Dillard St., Durham, NC.
Kimberley Pierce Cartwright
Kindred Spirits Conference Director Kimberley Pierce Cartwright started quilting in 2006 when she joined the African American Quilt Circle in Durham, NC. Learn more about Kimberley here.
Kena Dorsey
Kena began quilting over 20 years ago. She was originally self taught and started out by learning the basic techniques for piecing traditional blocks and patterns. Learn more about Kena here.
Aisha Lumumba
Aisha began quilting full-time in 2000, and draws on her awareness of the “black struggle” and black people’s contribution to life (in Africa, America and throughout the world) to add expression to her artistic desires. Learn more about Aisha here.
Kianga Jinaki
Kianga creates dolls, quilts and mixed media works that celebrate Black life. Her work has been been exhibited both nationally and internationally since 1991. Learn more about Kianga here.
Cookie Washington
Cookie describes herself as a “mostly self-taught quilt artist. I have been a fiber artist of some sort my whole life. At four years old, my Granddaddy paid me fifty cents for the first “Barbie” dress I ever designed.” Learn more about Cookie here.
Dr. Reneé Anderson
Dr. Anderson currently serves as Collections Manager at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. Learn more about Dr. Anderson here.
Marshall Price
Marshall is the Chief Curator and Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art in Durham, NC
Kindred Spirits Schedule
Thursday, June 15
| 1:00-6:30 | Registration Quilt Installation | |
| Dinner on Your Own | ||
| 7:00-8:30 | Get to Know You Mixer | |
| Friday, June 16 | ||
| 8:00-9:00 | Late Registration Quilt Submission | |
| 9:15-12:15 | Cookie Washington/Candace Thomas, asst Kena Dorsey | Room 1 Room 2 |
| 12:30-1:30 | Lunch Panel: Dr. Renee’ Anderson & Marshall Price | Bottling Co |
| 1:45-4:45 | Aisha Lumumba Kianga Jinaki | Room 1 Room 2 |
| 5:00-6:00 | Dinner on your own* | |
| 7:00-9:00 | “Deconstructing the Mammy Archetype Through African American Art Quiltwork” (Exhibition + Reception) | |
| Saturday, June 17 | ||
| 8:00-9:00 | Early Departure Quilt De-Install | |
| 9:00-12:00 | Aisha Lumumba Kianga Jinaki | Room 1 Room 2 |
| 12:15-1:45 | Lunch Panel: Workshop Leaders | Bottling Co |
| 2:00-5:00 | Cookie Washington/Candace Thomas, asst Kena Dorsey | Room 1 Room 2 |
| 5:00-6:00 | Quilt De-Install and Departure | |
| * | nearby restaurants include Mezcalito and Krill. |
Kena Dorsey:
Workshop 1, Friday morning: “Iyanla Portrait Quilt”
Workshop 2, Saturday afternoon: “Diversity Day”
Both workshops are raw edge appliqué Wall hanging using African Fabrics. Kits available.
Kiange Jinaki: Join fiber artist Kianga Jinaki in creating your very own Woman of the Market quilt. Using her original design and signature slow stitching as a starting point, this quilt involves both machine piecing, appliqué and hand/ machine quilting. Kianga will bring a rich collection of African handmade textiles and beads to incorporate in your 16” x 30” creation. This three hour class will be offered once on Friday and once on Saturday.
Aisha Lumumba: “Scrappy Lady.” You can make a beautiful Scrappy art quilt in this workshop by Aisha Lumumba. The Scrappy Lady has turned scrap collecting into a fast and fun project. Many quilters have experienced the satisfaction of recycling and reusing their scrap collection into a lovely lady with a beautiful full flowing scrappy dress. Class uses the techniques taught in the Scrap Easy book by Ms. Lumumba. If you save scraps from your projects this workshop is for you.
Cookie Washington: Create an African Fabric Cathedral Window Appliqué Pillow 20 x 24 inches square.
Cookie’s Make and Take class will build the confidence of even a novice quilter. In just 3 hours she will guide you through an approachable fun quilting and appliqué lesson that will have you leaving with a beautiful completed pillow cover and the skills to turn this into a technique into a full size quilt as you go quilt in a weekend.
Cookie will provide a kit and pattern and a few fun bonuses.
Students must supply their own sewing machine, rotary cutter and mat.
After we receive your conference registration we’ll send you information for workshop registration.
We hope you will bring a Deconstructing the Mammy Archetype quilt for our pop-up quilt show, which will be on display for attendees during the quilt conference from June 15-17. The public may view the quilt show on June 16 during our Third Friday celebration of Juneteenth from 6:00-9:00 pm.
Quilt dimensions: Maximum 16 inches wide and 40 inches length, thus allowing you to bring the quilt in your luggage or carry-on. Please feel free to bring a larger quilt from your own collection.
Deadline for notifying us of your quilt dimensions: June 1, 2023. Once we receive your conference registration, we’ll send a followup email to gather the name and size of your quilt, either from your own stash or one created for the Deconstructing the Mammy Archetype quilt show at the conference. We’ll also include other details about the quilt show.
Quilt Show Theme
The Mammy archetype is a stereotypical portrayal of black women in American popular culture. It is a caricature of a nurturing, maternal figure who is often depicted as overweight, asexual, and happily serving white people. The Mammy stereotype has been used to justify the enslavement and subjugation of black women and has been perpetuated through various forms of media.
Modern African American quilt work provides an avenue for deconstructing the Mammy archetype. Quilting has long been a form of creative expression for African American women, and in recent years, many black artists have used the medium to challenge and subvert racist stereotypes.
By incorporating imagery and symbolism that directly confronts the Mammy archetype, African American quilt makers are able to reframe the narrative and reclaim our own agency. For example, some artists have created quilts that depict black women as strong and independent, rather than subservient and obedient. Others have used quilting to celebrate the beauty and diversity of black women’s bodies, challenging the notion that black women must conform to Eurocentric beauty standards.
Additionally, some artists have used quilting to highlight the contributions of black women to American society. For example, Harriet Powers, an enslaved African American woman from Georgia, created a series of quilts that depicted scenes from her own life, as well as biblical stories and African folklore. Her work was a powerful testament to the resilience and creativity of black women, despite the constraints of slavery.
Overall, modern African American quilt work offers a powerful means of deconstructing the Mammy archetype and challenging the ways in which black women have been historically misrepresented in American culture. By using the medium of quilting to tell our own stories and celebrate our own experiences, black women are able to reclaim narratives and assert our own agency.
Register here: Kindred Spirits Conference
Cost: Equity: $125 ; Standard: $175 ; Pay It Forward: $225. (Includes conference, reception, and two lunches. Does not include lodging.)
Scholarships also available. Contact info@rcwms.org.
Lodging: We have arranged a block of rooms at the nearby Springhill Suites. You may book your rooms online at this link. Please note you must reserve your rooms by May 14 in order to receive the special rate.
We are offering Sliding Scale registration with Equity and Pay It Forward pricing. The opportunity to choose among several price options is an experiment in equitable pricing. We’re confident that those who join us are committed to being part of a creative crew that is diverse, committed to economic justice, and ready to explore new models for supporting each other (because the old models are unsupportable). Read more below to determine where you fall on the sliding scale.
Do You Qualify for Equity Pricing? Can You Pay It Forward?
Equity seats are limited and reserved for those with less economic privileges.
Please be mindful that if you purchase a ticket at the lowest end of the scale when you can truthfully afford the higher ticket prices, you limit access to those who truly need the gift of financial flexibility. Likewise if you are able and choose to Pay-It-Forward, more Equity Seats are made available.
When engaging with sliding scale practices, being honest with yourself and your financial situation grows solid and sustainable communities. It also respects the work of teachers and creators, who may be sole providers or have families to support and a mortgage or rent to pay. When creators are paid fairly, we can invest more time and resources in free and lower-cost offerings.
If you struggle to maintain access to needs such as health care, housing, food, child care, and are living paycheck to paycheck or are in significant debt, you probably belong here and you deserve a community that honors your price as equal an economical offering as the person who can pay the highest tier. Even when the lower tier is still prohibitive, we will work with folks to offer other solutions.
Source: Embracing an Equity Sliding Scale (link: https://embracingequity.org/blog/2018/11/29/embracing-an-equitable-sliding-scale)