African American Quilt Exhibit Comes To Ocean City Arts Center

OCEAN CITY, NJ — July will bring an African American fiber artists exhibit to the Ocean City Arts Center.

Opening July 1 and running through July 29, "Stitched Stories: An Exhibition of African American Quilters & Fiber Artists from New Jersey" will be shown at the Gallery at the Arts Center. The exhibit features artists from North, Central and South Jersey.

The Gallery is located in the Ocean City Arts Center, 1735 Simpson Avenue, 2nd Floor. It is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Two guilds are represented: The Nubian Heritage Quilters Guild from North Jersey and Princeton Sankofa Stitchers Modern Quilters Guild from Central Jersey. Rounding out the exhibit are The Imes’ Sisters, Barbara Imes Jorden and Jacqueline Imes Jenkins, from South Jersey and one Philadelphia fiber artist, Christina Johnson.

The Imes' Sisters, from Franklinville, are in their 80s, having been quilting for more than 40 years. "We are role models proudly living life through experienced ideals set forth by the ancestors. Sister, Sister, a mirror image of me," said Jacqueline Imes Jenkins.

The Nubian Heritage Quilters Guild, from Essex County, promotes, preserves and documents the importance of African American quilting. Formed in 1995, the guild celebrates the legacy of African American quilting and also donates quilts to hospitals.

The Princeton Sankofa Stitchers Modern Quilt Guild (PSSMQG) was formed in late 2015 by a group of African American women who began getting together casually to quilt and to share information about the craft. "Sankofa" is a symbol used by the Akan people of Ghana that represents needing to go into the past to find lost knowledge to make progress in the present. PSSMQG has been involved in many community activities since its inception.

Christina Johnson, founder of Heartstrings Quilting Guild in Philadelphia, is a West Philadelphia fiber artist focused on relaying traditional African American quilting techniques and cultural values. "My art challenges traditional and stereotypical edicts, encouraging individual empowerment with the hope of assisting women to use their voices and art for continued social change," Johnson said.

For further information, call (609) 399 7628. You can find the Arts Center at oceancityartscenter.org, on Facebook and Instagram.