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She Knew Where She Was Going: Gee’s Bend Quilts and Civil Rights

Overview of Exhibition

In 2021, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the Baltimore Museum of Art organized an exhibition centered around Gee’s Bend quilts. The exhibition featured five quilts that had recently been acquired by the BMA.

Images of Exhibition

BMA title text
Original Introduction Text

Original Gallery Angle 1
Original Gallery Angle 2
Original Gallery Angle 3
Original Gallery Angle 4
Original Gallery Angle 5
Original Gallery Angle 6
Original Sign Housetop
Housetop
Original Sign Blocks and Strips
Blocks and Strips
Original Sign Chesnut Bud
Chesnut Bud
Original Sign Diamond in the Square
Diamond in the Square
Four-Bloco Strip Original Sign
Four Block Strip Quilt
Interview With Curator Brittany Luberda

Associated Events & Publications

Publicity

The BMA Violet Hour, a series of online programs, hosted a digital quilting bee where participants each learned to make a quilting block inspired by one of Loretta Pettway’s quilts. The blocks were sent in and consolidated into a quilt that was raffled off to raise money for the organization Black Women Build Baltimore. BMA Stories articles shared a timeline of the Freedom Quilting Bee, bringing attention to the injustices done to the Gee’s Bend community by local and national authorities.

“A Timeline of The Freedom Quilting Bee”
“Win a Gee’s Bend-Inspired Community Quilt”
Exhibition Site