'Amistad' Quilts At Discovery Museum
âAmistadâ Quilts At Discovery Museum
BRIDGEPORT â The Discovery Museum has unveiled an exhibit of 22 quilts from The Amistad Friendship Quilt Project in honor of the docking of the schooner Amistad in Bridgeportâs Captainâs Cove. The exhibit will remain on display in the museumâs Main Gallery through September 30. A reception sponsored by Southern Connecticut Gas Company will be held at the museum on Thursday, September 20, from 5:30 to 8 pm.
Artists from across the globe created over 5,000 quilt squares depicting some aspect of the tribulations of the 53 African captives from the Amistad who found freedom in Connecticut courtrooms in the mid-19th Century. Quilt themes include ethnic heritage, cultural diversity and human rights.
Examples of quilts slated for display are pieces by the Hartford Quilters, which has members with direct connections to the original ship and/or the reconstructed schooner now in Bridgeport.
Quilters of the Roundtable, a group of 34 women committed to promoting and preserving African-American contributions to the art of quilting, created an offset marinerâs compass to symbolize the Africansâ unconventional entry in the United States.
Also, Virginia parishes quilted traditional quilt patterns whose message of âa new dayâ symbolize hope for the future.
Quilters who submitted blocks were connected deeply with their work, noted Wendy Kelley, a consulting curator at the Discovery Museum. âTheir work is thoughtful and passionate ⦠their gifts are from the heart,â she noted.
Paul Audley, president of The Discovery Museum, noted that the quilts provide visitors of all ages with valuable lessons about freedom, justice and tolerance âthat are as relevant today as they ever were. Weâre delighted to be able to enhance Amistadâs visit to the area with this thought-provoking exhibit,â he noted.
The project is sponsored by Amistad America in cooperation with Montgomery College and Mystic Seaport. Amistad America is a national, non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting the legacies of the Amistad Incident of 1839. The mission is to celebrate and teach the historic lessons of leadership, cooperation, justice and freedom inherent in the Amistad Incident.
The schooner Amistad, owned, operated and protected by Amistad America, is a floating classroom and monument to the millions of souls that were broken or lost because of the insidious transatlantic slave trade. To learn about the Amistad Quilt Project of Amistad America, visit www.amistadamerica.org or call 203-495-1839.
The Discovery Museum, at 4450 Park Avenue can be contacted by calling 203-372-3521.