Where: Gee’s Bend, Alabama
When: fall
If you like: arts and culture
Why you should go: In art museums across the country, radiant stars, lyrical abstracts, and bold patterns such as Flying Geese and Housetop exemplify the expressive artistry of Black quilters in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. But at October’s Airing of the Quilts Festival, the tight-knit rural community invites visitors to meet the makers and take part in a treasured tradition in which women drape laundry lines and porch banisters with colorful tapestries, transforming their gardens and homes into billowing immersive displays. Mary Margaret Pettway, a third-generation quilter who learned the craft from her mother, is one participating local artist. After piecing together scraps of corduroy skirts, dresses speckled with florals, striped blouses, and whatever else may have been on hand, she considers airing the finished product a vital final step. “When it hits that sun,” Pettway says, “it does something different to those quilts.”
G&G tip: Stop by the River Gallery, where curators from Souls Grown Deep, which co-hosts the festival, take a closer look at the legacy and work of Gee’s Bend Quilters. You can also pick up a guide for a driving tour of the Bend.
