READ: Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad
Wednesday, April 29, 6-7:30pm
TEXTITLES meetings take place at Pinney Library, 516 Cottage Grove Road, Madison
Facilitator: Angela Johnson (@angelajohnsonartist)
Fee: Free! But registration is required. Click on link below and complete the checkout process to be registered in this session.
April’s session will focus on:
Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard
The fascinating story of a friendship, a lost tradition, and an incredible discovery, revealing how enslaved men and women made encoded quilts and then used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad.
In Hidden in Plain View, historian Jacqueline Tobin and scholar Raymond Dobard offer the first proof that certain quilt patterns, including a prominent one called the Charleston Code, were, in fact, essential tools for escape along the Underground Railroad. In 1993, historian Jacqueline Tobin met African American quilter Ozella Williams amid piles of beautiful handmade quilts in the Old Market Building of Charleston, South Carolina. With the admonition to "write this down," Williams began to describe how slaves made coded quilts and used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. But just as quickly as she started, Williams stopped, informing Tobin that she would learn the rest when she was "ready." During the three years it took for Williams's narrative to unfold—and as the friendship and trust between the two women grew—Tobin enlisted Raymond Dobard, Ph.D., an art history professor and well-known African American quilter, to help unravel the mystery.
Part adventure and part history, Hidden in Plain View traces the origin of the Charleston Code from Africa to the Carolinas, from the low-country island Gullah peoples to free blacks living in the cities of the North, and shows how three people from completely different backgrounds pieced together one amazing American story.
Facilitator Bio:
Angela Johnson is a professional artist, creativity coach and educator. She earned a master’s in Art Education, an MA in Art and an MFA with a focus in photography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her areas of artistic expertise include art journaling, alternative photo processes, bookmaking and box making, Creativity Coaching, and installation art. Angela’s work includes themes of nature, balance, and telling stories through individual and collective memories. She often incorporates scientific elements and concepts into her work. Collaborations with other artists and scientists energizes her creativity.
Johnson is a fixture in the Wisconsin arts scene, with 20+ years of experience maintaining public art studios, teaching workshops, facilitating programs, leading public art installations and lecturing at universities. She has worked in museums, elementary schools, senior centers, colleges and universities. She has inspired and helped people of every age — from toddlers to 95-year-olds — reaching far into the depths of their imagination to discover and channel their creativity. She also teaches workshops on mindfulness and yoga.
Website: angelajohnsonartist.com
Social: @angelajohnsonartist