You may have guessed that I really like quilts. (I post about their exhibitions frequently.) I consider quilting an art form. These coverings, also used as wall hangings, are not only colorful, but often tell stories, family history, etc. Quilts can be comforting to the body, the eye and the soul.
MoAD/ Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, CA presents: “Soulful Stitching: Patchwork Quilts by Africans (Siddis) in India”. This is an introduction to a little known people (at least to me) and their quilt tradition called “Kowandi”.
Featured are “32 striking patchwork quilts made by Siddi women, heirs to the culture and values of Africans brought to Goa on India’s west coast beginning in the 16th century. While they have adopted and integrated many cultural aspects of the Indian peoples with whom they have lived for generations, Siddis have also retained and transformed certain cultural and artistic traditions from Africa”.
Soulful Stitching: Patchwork Quilts by Africans (Siddis) in India – Until September 18, 2011
Museum of the African Diaspora/ MoAD
685 Mission Street San Francisco, CA