We Gather at the Edge: Contemporary Quilts by Black Women Artists

The quilter, curator and scholar Carolyn Mazloomi has been championing Black quilt-making for the best part of half a century, most notably through founding the non-profit Women of Color Quilters Network in 1985, which supports its members through presentations, educational workshops, grants and more. Her personal collection of quilts by Black makers forms the backbone of this exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, 35 of which were acquired by the Smithsonian in 2023 (21 February–22 June). Highlights include Myrah Brown Green’s My Akuabaa Form (2000), which plays on a genre of female fertility sculptures most associated with the Akan people of west Africa. Some of the works from Mazloomi’s collection have been on show already in an exhibition of 2022 at the International Quilt Museum in Nebraska; others are displayed here in public for the first time.

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In My Akwabaa Form (2000), Myrah Brown Green. Smithsonian American Art Museum. © 2000, Myrah Brown Green

Ruby Nell Bridges (2012), Marion Coleman. Smithsonian American Art Museum. © the artist

We Are All Warmed by the Same Sun (2012), Helen Murrell. Smithsonian American Art Museum. © 2012 Helen Murrell

I am my Brother’s Keeper (2016), Carolyn Mazloomi. Smithsonian American Art Museum. © 2024, Carolyn L. Mazloomi