Weatherspoon - Harriet Powers

Harriet’s Powers, is a multi-sensory site-specific installation that commemorates the work and life of the 19th-century Black quiltmaker Harriet Powers (1837–1910), the woman often referred to as the mother of African American quilting. Combining artist-stitched elements, sculpture, and collected historical artifacts, the work is, in Lovell’s words, “an altar-totem-tree of life for Powers and for all Black female quilters.” Using carefully selected images, objects, and symbols, she situates Powers’s life within African American history and the ways in which Black women across time have created and continue to create lives for their families, their communities, and themselves. Lovell acknowledges injustice, recognizes resilience, and celebrates hope. The often communal nature of quiltmaking is also expressed audibly through a collaged soundscape for the work that evokes the conversations and music that so often enliven Black quilting bees.

Jan 24, 2026 - Jul, 2026