Students share the Black quilting tradition

Throughout the month of February, the UW–Madison campus community is celebrating Black history with an exploration of Black arts, in all its forms, from performance to painting to quilting. On Thursday, Feb. 9, the Black Cultural Center’s “Quilt Together. Stay Together.” shared the rich history of quilting inspired by African textiles in a hands-on event at the Red Gym. Attendees learned about the heritage and history captured in quilts sewn by enslaved women and about the innovative creativity of fiber artists like Rosie Lee Tompkins and Bisa Butler.

Find more Black History Month events going on around campus throughout February.

An overhead view of a table covered with a black cloth. From the lower left corner, a person leans in to draw with a marker on a blue cloth square. To their right lie a green fabric square fully decorated in black and pink along with crafting supplies.

Nilay Bhadra, left, and Jasmine Lutz, right, decorate textiles with markers that will later be made into one collective quilt as part of the "Quilt Together. Stay Together" event. Photo by: Colton Mansavage

Jasmine Jones stands and gestures toward a screen displaying photos of the colorful quilting work of Bisa Butler.

Undergraduate Jasmine Jones shares the story of quilting trailblazer Bisa Butler during a slideshow presentation. Photo by: Colton Mansavage

Sophia Whitehead, left, and Jasmine Lutz, right, laugh while decorating textiles. They are seated around a table covered in fabric squares, stencils and markers.

The event highlighted the rich storytelling history of quilting in African American culture. Sophia Whitehead, left, and Jasmine Lutz, right, laugh while decorating textiles. Photo by: Colton Mansavage