By: Donna Cope
Contemporary quilts from Gee’s Bend makers are now on exhibit at the Birmingham Public Library.
For more than 200 years, Black women in Boykin, Alabama, also known as Gee’s Bend, have practiced their art: hand-sewing quilts, throws and other textiles for their families.
It was a life forged in 1816 by necessity, with women on the Gees Plantation salvaging cloth scraps from old clothes and even gunnysacks of coarse burlap to make blankets that were passed down from generation to generation.
Today, the handcrafted quilts and throws are cherished collectibles that appear in art shows and are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and across the globe. A new exhibit of contemporary Gee’s Bend quilts, crafted by 23 artists between 1975 and 2023, just opened at the Birmingham Public Library. An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 3, from 3-5 p.m.
Now, national retailer Target, in recognition of Black History Month, is bringing the designs of Gee’s Bend craftswomen to the mainstream through a new line of clothing and household items. The Target offerings are produced through collaboration with Gees Bend craftswomen and the Nest Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to help women succeed financially.
In its promotion of the new line, Target holds up the handiwork of Gee’s Bend quilter Delia Thibodeaux, named for her grandmother Delia Bennett. She learned the family art at the knee of many women quilters whose legacy continues on today.
