Weaving the Fabric of Community: Sisterhood and the Tradition of Textile Arts

Whether it's clothing, something decorative or functional for the home, textiles have been a core part of our lives since the beginning of civilization.  Join us to hear how Black women have practiced and passed down these traditions to build family, community and business.

Camille Ann Brewer is the Director of the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles (SJMQT) . Ms. Brewer shapes the Museum’s vision and strategic direction, and guides the Museum’s overall operations, including exhibitions and programs, collections, donor relations and community engagement.

Ms. Brewer served as the Curator of Contemporary Art for the George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., and Executive Director for the Black Metropolis Research Consortium at the University of Chicago, among her long list of accomplishments. She also owned and operated her own business, CAB Fine Art Ltd., where she provided curatorial and consulting services for a host of academic, public and private sector clients. Additionally, Ms. Brewer has served on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and is an accomplished speaker and author.

Deborah Kinsey has been quilting for 23 plus years.  She enjoys quilting and especially likes to participate in quilting projects with others.   In 2021 she was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council grant in Community Quilt Making.   This took her to Baltimore’s Greenmount West Community Center to work with youth there to make a charity quilt.  The young people also worked with Ms.  Kinsey and other volunteers to create a quilt that will be hung at the community center.    Ms Kinsey has belonged to several different quilt guilds in Maryland as follows:  African American Quilters of Baltimore, Faithful Circle Quilters Guild of Howard County, Baltimore Heritage Quilt Guild, and Sew and Tell (a group formed at her former workplace).   Ms.  Kinsey lived in Chicago for several years where she joined the Lakeside Quilt Guild.   She still participates as a member of Lakeside via Zoom.  Some of the community quilt types Ms. Kinsey enjoys include round robins, milestone group quilts and anniversary commemorative group quilts.   In 2017 Lakeside Quilt Guild had a show featuring quilts made using the round robin quilting technique that Ms. Kinsey introduced to the group.   Ms.  Kinsey continues to seek out other quilt groups to work with and recently joined a group at BYKOTA Senior Center in Towson, MD.    For several years Ms. Kinsey has led a group of quilters to help Morgan University Women create a commemorative 85th Anniversary quilt.   As this project moves to a close, Ms. Kinsey is pleased at how many quilters and Morgan University Women collaborated to make the project a success.   The Sew and Tell group has worked over the years to create 40 plus group milestone quilts.

Lisa Shepard Stewart is a writer and fiber artist, and the owner of CulturedExpressions.com. She promotes the creative use of African textiles for sewing, quilting, home decor and crafts. After successfully running her business online for 17 years, Lisa opened CE's studio location in downtown Rahway, NJ in December 2017.   Here, she offers a curated selection of fabrics and embellishments, plus events and lots of creative inspiration, whether in person, online, or virtually.