GEMM Circles

The Art of Becoming: Exploring Gender Equity Through Textile Art, with SJSA

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When: Tuesday, February 27, 2024 | 4:30pm PT / 5:30pm MT/ 6:30pm CT / 7:30pm ET
Where: Virtual Panel Discussion
 

Register online

For decades now, women’s historians and independent scholars have linked 18th and 19th centuries women’s activities to a bonded, communal space where women could express their inner lives. Sewing activities, and quilting in particular, recorded women’s responses to the social and political environments in which they lived. Abolition, Civil War, temperance, suffrage—women pooled their thoughts, their fears, their attitudes, and their participation in tense, politically charged themes, and fused them into their quilts. 

Yet this new kind of political engagement was not accessible to all women, but rather to those who enjoyed the privileges of whiteness and wealth in American society. Sewing, in the post-industrialized world, was an activity that largely belonged to the leisure class. While women of color and immigrant women did sew, were mostly barred from these newly formed political spaces. In this way, sewing helped to shape a narrow and exclusionary vision of American womanhood, one that ignored the diversity and complexity of women's experiences and contributions and as a result, articulated a particular kind of American womanhood--one that is still ever-present today.

Using textile arts as a vehicle for activism and social change, the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) is turning this history on its head and invites all to stitch their voices into quilts that speak to the pressing issues of our time. The SJSA was founded in 2017, after the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, as a way to honor his memory and to empower youth to challenge the systems that oppress them. Through its educational programs, the SJSA teaches the history and craft of quilting, while also fostering a space for self-expression and dialogue. The quilts that emerge from these workshops are stunning and provocative, confronting the viewer with the harsh realities and injustices that many communities face. From racism and sexism to violence and incarceration, the SJSA does not shy away from tackling difficult topics through its bold and visionary work. Join the Gender Equity in Museums Movement and the Social Justice Sewing Academy for an important  conversation about gender, textile art , and the art of becoming. 

Meet The Panelists: 

Sara Trail learned to sew at the young age of 4, and is now a successful author, sewing teacher, and pattern and fabric designer. At age 13, Sara wrote a nationally published book, Sew with Sara, that teaches teens and tweens how to sew cute clothes and accessories for fun and profit. At 15, Sara starred in a nationally published DVD, Cool Stuff to Sew With Sara. She then designed two fabric collections, Folkheart and Biology 101, and a pattern collection with Simplicity, Designed with Love by Sara. Sara's pattern collections feature prom dresses, backpack patterns, hoodies, and jackets as well as aprons and tote bags. While attending UC Berkeley, Sara created a quilt in memory of Trayvon Martin, and her love for sewing and passion for social justice intertwined. After graduating from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Sara founded the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). As the Founder and Executive Director of the SJSA, Sara actively travels to facilitate lectures and workshops. She is also key in developing and implementing the artistic vision of the organization.

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Stacey A. Watson A passionate educator and community change agent, Stacey recently served her community as a history professor at West Kentucky Community Technical College and as the director of equitable partnerships at the National Quilt Museum (NQM) in Paducah, Kentucky. She has devoted twenty years to teaching students to think critically, creating her own nationally recognized teaching technique. With her passion to educate others, she curated a quilt exhibition at NQM titled Say Your Piece—Black Women: Mothers, Martyrs, and Misunderstood, which focused on displaying quilt art to highlight issues Black women consistently face in America. She is the recipient of the NAACP Rosa M. Parks Power of One award and the Phelps Award for Excellence in Teaching. She recently served as a judge for the world’s largest modern quilt competition, QuiltCon 2024, and now works as a museum specialist in Washington, DC.

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Dyese Matthews is currently a PhD candidate in Apparel Design at Cornell University. She earned her B.A.A. in Fashion Merchandising and Design from Central Michigan University, and M.S. in Apparel Merchandising and Design from Iowa State University. In her research and curatorial practice she explores experiences of dressed embodiment, identity expression, and self-definition with a focus on Black identity and fashion.

Jocelyn Gama, a 23-year-old raised in East Oakland, CA, and born in Jalisco, Mexico is dedicated to empower communities to unlock their own potential through the power of art expression and visualization. She studies at UC Berkley, while remaining committed to critical dialogues and amplifying youth voices throughout the city, nation, and world via lobbying and education to advance the cause of justice. When she is not studying she spends her time designing projects through Hyphy x Educated, an Intergenerational Hub Academy to bridge art, and creativity with civic education.