Souls Grown Deep like the Rivers - Nest Event
⏱ 3 min
The Royal Academy recently unveiled an exhibition titled “Souls Grown Deep like the Rivers”, a striking showcase of Southern African-American artists and their multi-faceted creations, with a special focus on Gee’s Bend Quilters. This exhibition conveys a powerful message, namely, that art has the capacity to transform times of suffering into empowering motifs that reflect our shared human spirit.
The Gee’s Bend Quilters
On the 17th of May, I attended a special gathering in honour of Nest and the Gee’s Bend Quilters at The Twenty Two in London. The event, hosted by BFC Foundation Patron Carmen Busquets, provided an opportunity for one of the Gee’s Bend Quilters to share her story and creative process with an engaged audience of philanthropists, editors, stylists, researchers, and BFC members.
To share a bit more about the Gee’s Bend Quilters: This group hails from Alabama and are direct descendants of enslaved individuals who toiled on the cotton plantation established by Joseph Gee in 1816. "Unlike residents of other tenant communities, who might be compelled by economic hardship to move—or who were sometimes evicted in retaliation for striving towards civil rights—the people of Gee’s Bend could retain their land and homes. This continuity nourished cultural traditions like quilt-making."
Courtesy of Souls Grown Deep Foundation
The most resonant aspect for me, when discovering these artisans, was understanding their method of constructing these quilts and appreciating their universal quality. Most of us spend our nights cocooned in the comfort of a warm and cosy quilt. In this context, the jazz and blue quilts are created as an activity that connects these artisans together, while repurposing found materials, mixing, blending and superimposing expansive symbols of unity.
Throughout history, we've observed how found objects enter gallery spaces and prompt reflections among viewers, questioning their significance and relevance. In this instance, The Gee’s Bends Quilters have sparked a dialogue about how art can act as a catalyst for change, and create opportunities for artisanal communities to expand their presence in wider culture. Gee's Bend has been supported by Nest and other philanthropists too, who have contributed to the continuation of their craft.
Nest is a remarkable non-profit organisation, and lends support to over 300,000 artisans from 120 countries, including the extraordinarily gifted quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Nest plays a crucial role in preserving age-old craft traditions from fading into oblivion, simultaneously bringing economic empowerment and increased social inclusion to women and historically marginalised artisan communities worldwide.
What might the future of art resemble, and how can it serve as an agent for change?
The Gee’s Bend Quilters' presence in the "Souls Grown Deep Like the Rivers" exhibition underscores the vital role of curators, gallerists, and storytellers in bridging the gap between artistic communities and a wider audience. Their efforts to revive and provide a platform for these creations foster increased empathy and understanding within society. This awareness helps us better comprehend the unique circumstances that shape social backgrounds and community experiences. As writer and broadcaster Emma Dabiri declared, this exhibition is a "first of its kind", and hopefully we will continue to see more of this art serve value to audiences and communities in the future.
