Heritage: Southern Vernacular opens Thursday, November 7, at Haley Gallery. An opening reception from 5:00–8:00 PM will be preceded by a talk in the Ford Theater, featuring Gee’s Bend quilters.
The exhibit features sculpture and works on paper by Richard Dial and Charlie Lucas; paintings and works on paper by Thornton Dial, and Mose Tolliver; and quilts by Gee’s Bend quiltmakers.
On Friday, November 8, Gee’s Bend quilters Loretta Pettway Bennett, Francesca Charley, Marlene Bennett Jones, Cathy Mooney, Stella Pettway, and Andrea Pettway Williams will participate in a quilting demonstration in the Haley Gallery in the afternoon.
Thursday, November 7 | 3:30 – 4:30 PM | Ford Theater
To mark the opening of the Haley Gallery exhibition Heritage: Southern Vernacular—which will feature quilts made by women in the Gee’s Bend community of Alabama, as well as sculptures and two-dimensional works from Black vernacular artists associated with the state—Gee’s Bend quilters will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Paul Barrett, the exhibit’s guest curator. Barrett and the panelists will discuss Gee’s Bend’s history and its connection to From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music, the Museum’s expanded box set of recordings and online experience. The collection, which spans a century of country music by Black artists, is illustrated with Gee’s Bend quilts from roughly the same time periods as the music. Ford Theater. Program ticket required. Free.