We Will Walk: Art and Resistance in the American South
Turner Contemporary, Margate
Exhibition runs 7 February – 3 May 2020
https://turnercontemporary.org/whats-on/we-will-walk/
The exhibition will see a series of quilts from the isolated hamlet of Gee’s Bend (known today as Boykin) in Alabama go on display in the UK for the first time. These world-famous quilts have a distinctive style, and are often made from recycling old clothing such as blue jeans. – Turner Contemporary website
I am very lucky in that I live in a fifteen minute walk of the Turner Contemporary in Margate. When it was announced that this exhibition would feature a number of quilts from the famous Gee’s Bend Quilters, I knew that I would have to visit and report back on the quilts on show.
The above link takes you to more information about the exhibition as a whole, but the focus is the on artists who lived through the civil rights struggle and it’s aftermath, within the southern United States. The exhibition takes place over a number of gallery spaces and features sculpture, photography, music and more. The exhibition is challenging, emotional, hard-hitting but also witty, filled with images and stories of hope and survival.
The quilt fabrics used are some of the most basic including denim and corduroy but the design and top stitching really makes these quilts shine.
I would urge a visit to the exhibition if you can make it but below I have posted some images of the quilts on show.
All images attributed to Sian Morse