Exhibitions

Quilt Memorials — Jo-Ann Morgan | May 16th — July 6th | Reception May 16th from 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Artist’s Statement 

I began sewing during the pandemic. Quilting and applique’ techniques seemed a perfect choice for making art that could offer comfort during trying times. I created a female figure as a focal point and named her Nuestra Dama de la Corona (Lady Corona). She was to be a comforting presence, not unlike a deity or favorite doll, to offer respite and hope within scenarios that brought attention to social inequality. She is represented wearing a crown, gloves, and mask. In my earliest work Lady Corona offers comfort to children at the US/ Mexico border, demonstrates in support of Black Lives Matter, paid tribute to people who had passed, and remembers victims of violence. As the work evolved, other figures have taken on a similar role.

The wall-mounted hangings are constructed in layered cotton fabric. Because quilted comforters are familiar and approachable, the medium is ideal for addressing provocative topics related to social justice and inequality. 

I think of these quilted wall hangings as similar to the spontaneous memorials that communities erect after an untimely death. I first noticed this impulse in the scores of portraits people created after the death of Trayvon Martin, and again after the death of Michael Brown when a tower of flowers and other items was raised in Ferguson at the spot where he was killed by police. Similarly, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and then George Floyd brought out widespread commemorations, expanding a national movement known as Black Lives Matter. In addition to artwork commemorating the life of Taylor, this exhibition includes a quilt memorial for Ronald Green, Monroe, Louisiana, who was also killed by police. 

Several artworks bring attention to mass shootings. “In Remembrance- Asian Spa” recalls the shooting of eight Atlanta massage workers. Also on display are selections from a series of quilts memorializing the nineteen children killed in 2022 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. They celebrate the short lives of the ten-year-old victims and meant to evoke our collective outrage. 

I consider my artmaking to be a form of activism. I hope my exhibition of quilt memorials to victims of senseless gun violence can inspire others to become more engaged in preventing further such deaths.

Artist Bio 

Visual artist Jo-Ann Morgan is Professor Emeritus of African American Studies and Art History at Western Illinois University. She is the author of The Black Arts Movement and the Black Panther Party in American Visual Culture (Routledge, 2019) and Uncle Tom’s Cabin as Visual Culture, which won the Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship in 2008. Since 2020 Morgan has been a full-time fiber artist, creating stitched fabric wall hangings on themes related to social justice and gun violence. Among her awards are a Cultural Commentary/Social Change Grant from Fiber Art Now (summer/fall 2021) a Not Real Art Award from Culver City Arts Foundation (2022), a Weyerhaeuser Juror Award at the 2021 Great Northern Art Explosion, Grayling, MI, and several honorable mentions. In addition to over thirty juried shows, her solo exhibitions include Dalton Gallery, Arts Council of York County, Rock Hill, SC (February 2022), Park Circle Gallery, North Charleston, SC (November 2022), Maude Kerns Art Center, Eugene, OR (February 2023), Rehoboth Art Center, Rehoboth Beach, DE (September 2023), Alma [MI] College (November 2023), Pittsburg [KS] State University, (October 2023), Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, WI (January 2024), Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithfield, TN (March 2024), and Holy Family University, Philadelphia (March 2024).