Say Your Piece Exhibit at National Quilt Museum

Say Your Piece Exhibit at National Quilt Museum

On exhibit through February 21, 2023

The National Quilt Museum

Say Your Piece displays twelve quilts made by female African American artists that illuminate issues faced specifically by Black women and celebrate what they have accomplished in spite of the obstacles that they had to overcome. The exhibition also features videos, primary sources, articles and information on historical events associated with each quilt via a QR code or the museum label. The quilts examine and analyze issues such as maternal mortality, healthcare disparities, the loss of children to police brutality, slavery, the fight for civil rights and more.

A few standout pieces from the exhibition include “A Partial Listing” and “Mamie Till-Mobly.” “A Partial Listing” tells the story of lynching in America with over 7,500 1.5-inch blocks representing people that have been lynched from the civil rights era to the present police shootings. The quilt is called “A Partial Listing” because the quilt is not finished and will never be finished as this issue still continues today. “Mamie Till-Mobly” is another powerful piece in the exhibition as it shows the mother of Emmett Till extremely emotional when she was known for showing little emotion on television. Quilted by a mother-daughter team, the Lipkers, the quilt shows tears streaming down Mamie’s face and captures the emotion of all Black mothers who have lost their children.

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The National Quilt Museum, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2021, is the largest museum of its kind in the world. Now open with safety measures in place, the museum has announced its summer special exhibitions that will be on display in addition to the museum’s permanent collection of contemporary quilts.  

For more information call (270) 442-8856 or visit quiltmuseum.org