The Skin Quilt Project is a documentary that explores colorism in the African-American community. The film addresses this complex issue through the stories of African-American quilters, and the tradition of an artform that celebrates its culture. The quilters speak of the influence of the African-American quilting tradition as a tool for encouraging an appreciation in the African-American cultural heritage.
Colorism has been a long disputed issue within the African-American community, however, filmmaker Lauren Cross speculates that African-American quilters are much more grounded in their African roots. As Quilt historian Carolyn Mazloomi explains, African-American quilters "are joined by the thread of a needle” in which the quilting medium leaves no room for “color issues.”
As many African-American quilters come from families who have passed down quilting techniques to their children and grandchildren, today’s quilters represent African-American men and women who have become concerned with telling the story of their cultural heritage. In The Skin Quilt Project, the quilters tell the story of skin color politics in African-American culture, yet realizing the power of quilting to empower self-confidence in their community.
About the Artist:
Lauren Cross is a writer, activist, and interdisciplinary artist working in mixed media, photography, media arts, and installation art. Her current research interests include the issues of colorism and the “color complex” within the African American community, and her current work addresses ideals of beauty, race, and skin complexion in media imagery. She is also the founder and editor of CVAAD Projects( www.cvaad.com), an online blog and resource for contemporary visual art of the African diaspora. She received her BA in Art, Design, and Media from Richmond, The American International University in London, England, and MFA in Visual Arts from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. She is currently a doctoral student in Women's Studies at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas.
For more information,
please contact us at:
info@skinquiltproject.com
Quilting and Participant Links:
www.artbysshine.com
www.wendellgeorgebrown.net
http://blackthreads.blogspot.com
www.bluetrianglequiltguild.com
www.africanamericanartquilt.com
http://auburn.edu/academic/other
/geesbend/home.html
www.carolynlmazloomi.com/
http://richerichardsonartquilts.blogspot.com/
www.myspace.com/darianurbangriot
www.myspace.com/mahoganylbrowne
African American Quilting Scholars in The Skin Quilt Project!
The Skin Quilt Project will be interviewing two of the most cutting-edge African American quilting scholars of today, Ms. Kyra Hicks (Arlington,VA) and Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi( West Chester, OH). Both have contributed extensively to the development of writings on the African American quilting tradition, as well as elevating the history and stories of the African-American quilters that they feature.
Kyra Hicks is the author of Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook(2003), Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria(2006), and her recently published book This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers’ Bible Quilt and Other Pieces(2009).
Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi is the author of Spirits of the Cloth: Contemporary African American Quilts(1998); Textural Rhythms: Quilting the Jazz Tradition(Paper Moon Publications, 2007); and Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Creativity, Champions and Challenges(Paper Moon Publications, 2008). She is also an independent curator of exhibitions such as Threads of Faith(2004); Quilting African American Women’s History: Our Creativity, Champions and Challenges(2008); and she also assisted curator, Roland Freeman with the inaugural exhibition, Quilts for Obama: Celebrating the Inaugration of our 44th President. Dr. Mazloomi is the founder of the Women of Color Quilters Network, an organization built to foster and preserve the art of quiltmaking among women of color. Her new book The Journey of Hope in America: Art Quilts Inspired by Presideny Barack Obama is scheduled for release in December 2009. The Skin Quilt Project participant Sherry Shine’s art Quilt is featured on the cover.
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