Support Gee's Bend Quilters
Work Clothes Quilt by Lucy Mooney, Gee's Bend
Lucy Mooney, Gee's Bend Quilter
Work Clothes Quilt by Stella Mae Pettway, Gee's Bend
Stella Mae Pettway, Gee's Bend Quilter
Blocks And Strips Work Clothes Quilt by Lucy Mooney, c.1935
Work Clothes Quilt by Stella Mae Pettway, 2000 ⠀
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The @geesbendquiltmakers repurposed clothing into quilts out of necessity and with sublime beauty. As far as I'm concerned they wrote and continue to write the playbook on sustainable sewing! To me these "field of jeans" work clothes quilts are a source of pure inspiration! ⠀
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Who in the modern quilting community, has not been profoundly inspired by the legacy and genius of the Gee's Bend quilters? Their iconic quilts have received critical acclaim and yet... ⠀
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Even though their quilts "are on the walls of some of this country's finest museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston... The average annual income (in Gee's Bend) is under $10,000, and well over half of the residents live in poverty. Some live without proper electricity and plumbing, and most do not have internet access in their homes. These challenges have significantly limited Gee's Bend quilters’ ability to connect with a global audience and market their quilts beyond the local quilters' collective." —according to the Souls Grown Deep Foundation⠀
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Folks this IS the racial digital divide in action, and it affects black rural communities like Gee's Bend exponentially. And don't EVEN get me going on the systemic racism, sexism and classism that exists in our US capitalist art economy and copyright laws, in which the Gee's Bend quilters received only a small fraction of the current value of their museum worthy quilts. Yikes!
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♻️✂️I'm calling to action, everyone committed to sustainable sewing who has the means to buy two yards of designer fabric this month ⠀
♻️✂️ to forego the purchase and invest the money saved ($25) in support of a digital/marketing resource center for the Gee's Bend Quilters ⠀
♻️✂️ to lay the groundwork for sustainable, long-term economic success of quilters, their families, and their community. ⠀
♻️✂️ In order to do this, they need our support! Please give what you can.
Update
Folks! $6k and counting raised for the Gee's Bend resource center! Wow! Thanks from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made a donation, and to those who shared the post widely. I'm overjoyed and blown away, but not surprised by your generosity and willingness to uplift these ground breaking and influential makers. Let's keep the challenge circulating!