Gee’s Bend Quilters • Panel Discussion • 2024

Gee’s Bend quilters Loretta Pettway Bennett, Claudia Pettway Charley, and Marlene Bennett Jones unpack the history of their Alabama community’s longstanding quilting culture, the rise of their artwork in the fashion world, and the next generation of quilters that will carry on the tradition. This discussion was recorded on November 11, 2024, and celebrated the opening of the Haley Gallery exhibition “Heritage: Southern Vernacular,” which features quilts made by women in the Gee’s Bend community, as well as sculptures and two-dimensional works from Black vernacular artists associated with the state of Alabama.

The exhibit’s guest curator, Paul Barrett, moderates this in-depth conversation. Topics range from each panelist’s individual artistic approach to collaborating with fashion designer Greg Lauren and witnessing Questlove accept an Oscar in a custom Gee’s Bend jacket. An audience Q&A includes discussion around ancestry in the community and the connection quilting affords to both the past and the future.

Barrett and the panelists also discuss Gee’s Bend’s connection to “From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music,” a box set of recordings and an online experience from the Museum. Gee’s Bend quilts illustrate the collection, which spans a century of country music by Black artists.

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Learn about the Haley Gallery’s exhibitions:
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