Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South, organized by the Mississippi Museum of Art in collaboration with the Weatherspoon Art Museum, arrives at the Weatherspoon as the exhibition’s exclusive North Carolina venue.
Quiltmaking is one of the most enduring ways of making meaning and encapsulating memories within Black culture. As historical leaders of this art form, generations of Southern Black women have used quilts to preserve history. Their hands have stitched visual records that maintain centuries of knowledge about the region’s complexities. However, mainstream discourse often exploits their artistry and erases their perspectives. This has led to gaps in scholarship about the lives and voices of those who matter most—the makers.
Black folklorist Roland L. Freeman (1936–2023) spent nearly three decades building relationships with Black quilters across the United States and collecting their quilts, with a special interest in the South. Through care and respect for the artists, he documented their lives, processes, and creations. These stories recognize that race, gender, and class should not define or diminish the makers or their works.
Of Salt and Spirit builds upon Freeman’s legacy to shape a love letter to Black quilters of the South, presenting twenty-four quilts and two portraits from the collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art. The exhibition uses a reparative approach to showcase the untold stories of everyday people whose lives are as vibrant and varied as the quilts they created.
Of Salt and Spirit: Black Quilters in the American South is organized by the Mississippi Museum of Art. The exhibition is curated by quilts scholar Dr. Sharbreon Plummer with Lydia Jasper, former Assistant Curator of the Permanent Collection, Mississippi Museum of Art. Support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Art Dealers Association of America Foundation.