The Weatherspoon Art Museum has launched two concurrent exhibitions centered on the legacy of Southern Black quilters. "Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South," curated by Dr. Sharbreon Plummer, showcases 24 quilts from the collection of folklorist Roland L. Freeman, including works by UNCG alumna Gwendolyn Magee. Complementing this is "Harriet’s Powers," a site-specific immersive installation by artist Precious D. Lovell that pays homage to Harriet Powers, a 19th-century quilter born into slavery whose work is now held by the Smithsonian and the MFA Boston.
These exhibitions are significant for their focus on the intersection of craft, genealogy, and social history within the African American experience. By elevating quilting from a domestic necessity to a recognized fine art form, the museum highlights how these textiles served as vessels for storytelling, resistance, and cultural preservation. The inclusion of local Civil Rights artifacts and the work of regional artists further grounds these global themes of Black womanhood and artistic labor in the specific history of the American South.