- This event has passed.
In Gallery June 18th through July 19th, 2024.
A reception will be held July 6, 2-4pm with local quilters and guest speaker Pearlista Henry.
This is a FREE exhibit open to the public. AHACC hours are Monday through Saturday, 10-4:30pm and Sunday, 1-4pm.
The Underground Railroad was an effort by formerly enslaved African Americans and abolitionists to help enslaved people escape to freedom in the period before the Civil War ended in 1865. As the United States strives to encompass a wider view of its history, we have come to learn more about the organizational structures and the “operatives” from all backgrounds who were involved in the Underground Railroad and how it worked.
As with many historic theories, the use of quilts in helping travelers on the Underground Railroad as they escaped to freedom has been questioned. Even if un-proven by historians, making these quilts and thinking about their potential use to those seeking freedom engender ideas and thoughts in the minds of both the makers and those who enjoy seeing them here. We may never know for certain now, but the idea is appealing in many ways.
Regardless of historical accuracy or the legend recounted here, the quilt-artists have used the same patterns but individualized their work through their choices of fabric, use of sashing and embellishments. We are grateful to Jane Greenwood and the quilters represented here: Peggy Dunn, Libby Fridley, Sonnie Fornwalt, Joan Green, Armilda Hayes, Laura Kyle, Amanda Littleton, Kathy Smestead, Mary Anne Solan, and Donna Victorine. We thank them for the loan of their work, their creativity and skill.