Griots of Cotton, Indigo, & Clay

Griots of Cotton, Indigo, & Clay debuts the permanent collection of the Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund, an evolution of the advocacy efforts of the Black Belt Justice Center. Curated by Torreah “Cookie” Washington, and featuring over 100 pieces of artwork commissioned from Black fiber artists in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the Black Belt South, and the African Diaspora at large, this vast array of textile art portrays the power of the Black imagination to extend beyond colonial frameworks, centering narratives of self-sustained land ownership and spirit-cultural reclamation.

Inspired by the movement for restoration of eco-cultural traditional practices, Griots of Cotton, Indigo, & Clay showcases the rich tradition of fiber art as material culture and tells the untold stories of struggle and resilience rooted in black ecocultural traditions and textile arts. The artworks of over four dozen seasoned artisans will be on view, including works by the artists of The Return of the Bees Collective. The collected artworks examine the ideals of racial pride, social power, identity, and the importance of land, heritage, and culture.

States exhibiting artist and curator Cookie Washington, “Black fiber artisans uphold the charge of griots, weaving together narratives of resistance into tactile expressions of land memory and visions for the future.” This traveling exhibition explores the innovations of eco-cultural techniques in appliqué, basket-weaving, collage, indigo, and painting, celebrating an ecosystem of over 50 master fiber artists, ceramicists, sweetgrass preservers, and blacksmiths.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Estelle Colored Glass, Lady Farmer, the Kalliopeia Foundation, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.

Torreah Washington - Califia: Queen of California

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