Everyday people overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles to produce fine art. Due to decades of historical isolation, the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama developed a radical, abstract approach to quilting. We meet two quilters from the small town who have quilts on display in some of the finest museums in the country. We also meet a contemporary furniture maker whose work is a living history of Black craft.

Guests:

Robell Awake, chairmaker, teacher, and author of "A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects" https://www.robellawake.com

Essie Bendolph Pettway, quilter from Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Alabama, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York https://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/artist/essie-bendolph-pettway

Louisiana P. Bendolph, quilter from Gee's Bend, Alabama. Her quilts are in the permanent collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, The High Museum of Art, The Dallas Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art https://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/artist/louisiana-p-bendolph

Gee's Bend Quiltmakers: https://www.soulsgrowndeep.org/gees-bend-quiltmakers

Illustration of Harriet Powers courtesy of Johnalynn Holland, illustrator of "A Short History of Black Craft in Ten Objects" https://johnalynnholland.com/

Photo of "Conjure Memory - Things Fall Apart" courtesy of Robell Awake