About Us
WHY ARE WE HERE?
Our purpose is to inspire understanding of the social, cultural, and artistic significance of African-American quilts. Our goal is to document, research, and preserve African-American quilt history through data collection and collaboration with local, state, and national societies, museums and universities.
African American Quilt Documentation Study Group
African-American history, our contributions, and our achievements are often underrepresented, ignored, or even erased from mainstream historical narratives. This has led to gaps and fragmentation in the collective historical record of African Americans.
Many African-American quilts have no record of the quilt history or the quilt maker. In most cases, what is known has been handed down orally and not recorded anywhere. The African American Quilt Documentation Study Group was established to uncover, document, and research African-American quilt history with the goal of preserving our African-American quilting heritage.
AAQDSG
Services include:
Quilt Documentation
- Preservation of documents and oral histories
Research Database
- Maintain a comprehensive database of African American quilts history, artists, and historical information
Artist Support
- Showcase profiles of African American quilt artists, highlighting their works and contributions
Online Events
- Host discussions of African American quilting and private gallery viewings of significant collections
Community Engagement
- Network opportunities for researchers, historians, and artists
Support for Social Causes
- Collaborate with organizations working on societal issues
Consultation
- For individuals and organizations, issues that align with the mission of preserving cultural heritage
THE GROUP
A'donna is a quilter and quilt historian. She creates traditional and art quilts, along with historical replicas and quilts of African-American children's stories. The quilts of Gee's Bend were the greatest inspiration for her interest in African-American quilt history. When A'donna realized most African-American quilts had no recorded history about the quilt or the quiltmaker, she began documenting the history of African-American quilts to preserve their social and cultural significance. This eventually led her to establish a non-profit to document, research, and preserve African-American quilt stories and history.
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