Charleston Reporter

An art collection that includes more than 100 pieces of textile art produced by Black fiber artists in South Carolina's Lowcountry, the Black Belt South and the African Diaspora, will be on display in Charleston later this month.

The exhibit, "Griots of Cotton, Indigo, and Clay" is being presented by the city's Office of Cultural Affairs and can be viewed at the City Gallery on Prioleau Street Jan. 17-Feb. 28. 

"I find that textile design emits a spirit, a presence, and energy, a vitality unlike that of any other medium," Torreah "Cookie" Washington, curator of the exhibit, said in a press release on the city's website. "Quilting is in my blood. Enslaved Africans used quilting to tell their stories. I wish to keep this tradition alive and, through my work, validate our culture by weaving stories of the African or African American experience into my quilts, just as my foremothers did almost four hundred years ago. 

"Even though I'm working in a centuries old medium, I believe art quilters are shifting to accommodate our new application. Art quilting, an emerging art form, is a fairly small part of the art world. I am thrilled to be part of it."

The exhibit shows the Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund's permanent collection, includes the Black Belt Justice Center's progression of advocacy efforts, and portrays "the power of the Black imagination," the release said.

Work by artists from The Return of the Bees Collective are among the more than four dozen artists who's work will be included included in the "Griots of Cotton, Indigo, and Clay" display, the release said. 

The Black Belt Just Center is a nonprofit with a mission to help increase African Americans retain their property and increase landownership in communities of the Black Belt region, according to the release.