Photo courtesy of Sarah K. Khan

Indigo Arts Alliance & Cove Street Arts invites you to be a part of Soulful Stitching: A Scholarly Social Practice!

This live online conversation brings together artists, scholars, and historians Dr. Sarah K. Khan, Dr. Henry J. Drewal, and Dr. Pashington Obeng to talk about merging cultures, the importance of tradition, and the incredible quilts created by the Siddi women of Karnataka, India.

The Siddis of Karnataka, India are the descendants of both early African immigrants to South Asia and enslaved Africans brought to Goa on India’s west coast by the Portuguese beginning in the 16th century. Gradually, they escaped slavery and moved southward into the remote Western Ghatt mountains of Northern Karnataka in order to create free, independent African diaspora communities.

While they have adopted, adapted, and integrated many aspects of Indian cultures, Siddis have also retained and transformed certain African traditions. In the visual arts, one tradition stands out: the patchwork quilts known as kawandi.

On view at Cove Street Arts until March 24th, 2021, this exhibition is co-curated by artist and scholar Sarah K. Khan and Henry J. Drewal, Evjue-Bascom Professor Emeritus of African and African Diaspora Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who first saw kawandi while documenting Siddi expressive culture in 2004. All of the quilts in the exhibition are by members of the nonprofit Siddi Womens’ Quilting Cooperative, which is keeping this tradition alive and vibrant.

Register HERE to attend online.