Edjohnetta Miller’s quilts will be on display at Westfield on Weekend’s center through April 5.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
WESTFIELD — In a celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, Westfield on Weekends will continue its Journey Stories series through featuring the “Quilts of Edjohnetta Miller” through April 5 at its center at 105 Elm St.
“She represents everything that I love about America,” WOW President Bob Plasse told Reminder Publishing. “She is an artist, an educator, a social justice advocate — the work that she’s doing is reflective of the spirit and richness of African and American heritage.”
Miller is a nationally known fiber artist, quilter educator and activist who has worked in many private and public collections both around America and internationally including Hartford’s Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Nelson Mandela Museum in Cape Town, South Africa and the U.S. embassies in Chad, Benin and Ethiopia. In addition to being part of the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibits, her art will be featured at the Smithsonian’s Resnick Gallery this April.
Miller has also received much acclaim and awards for her work as an artist and community leader, including Connecticut’s most prestigious artistic award, The Governor’s Award, and she has been seen across numerous television appearance on HGTV’s “Simply Quilts” and “Modern Master’s” series, as well as being recognized as the “Best of the Best” by the New York Times.
“Journey Stories: The Quilts of Edjohnetta Miller” can be viewed Tuesdays through Thursdays from noon to 3 p.m., Thursday and Friday evenings from 6-8 p.m., and Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. Special group tours and individual showings may be arranged by calling WOW at 413-579-5967.
“WOW is thrilled to have begun a collaboration with Edjohnetta and her talented daughter Ayisha, which we hope will continue for years to come,” said WOW Center Director Kathi Bradford. “We are honored to introduce audiences to the work of an artists of such international caliber.”
The expansive exhibit at WOW will spotlight Miller’s extraordinary career as a fiber artist with a wide variety of quilts and quilted hoops that represent her life journey.
Miller has explained her pieces reflect her social justice views, as well as her love of life as a two-time breast cancer survivor. According to Miller, much of her work was created with a specific purpose of “exemplifying the historic riches of African and African American people and the struggles they have faced.”
Most of the quilts on display will be for sale with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the community programming of Westfield on Weekends.
“We are pleased to be able to present 30 of her most spectacular works on display,” said Plasse. “When people buy her art, they’re buying pieces that really are joining an appreciative audience around the world of folks and art museums that have Edjohnetta’s work on their wall.”
Working with color, pattern and textures of fabric, and using her art to tell stories, Miller uses her medium to both inspire and educate.
“I enjoy the freedom, movement and power given to creating the sculpture of cloth. I want the viewers to be able to visually enter my quilts and walk through fields of color to the still, contemplative space within,” said Miller.
Using a technique called “photo transfer” she obtains images of historical events and transfers those images onto cloth, from which fashions her quilts.
Together with her daughter Ayisha, who has inherited her mother’s skill and creativity and is also a fiber artist, Miller has offered workshops on fiber art and creativity within school systems, the Bushnell Center Education programs and at Castle Hill on Cape Cod. She also continues to offer lectures on her journey as a Black female artists and cancer survivor and as an advocate for social justice.
There will be in person events featured during the series with Miller set to be in attendance for each one. Full details of these events can be found at westfieldonweekends.com and on WOW’s Facebook page, but the events will feature:
- National Quilting Day celebration on Saturday March 15 from noon to 4 p.m. WOW will reveal a large quilt that Miller has especially chosen to honor the history of quilters throughout the world.
- A conversation with the artist on Wednesday March 19 at 1 p.m. inside WOW’s center. Audience members will be encouraged to join in the discussion.
- A “Wreaths for Peace” workshop on Saturday, March 22 from 1-3 p.m. at the center.
- “Jazz for Edjohnetta” — A Cabaret on Saturday, March 29 at 2 p.m. at the center.
“It’s a joy to create events that complement what we are doing with our gallery installations, exhibitions and group shows,” Plasse said.
The “Journey Stories” programming of WOW is funded in part with grants from the Westfield Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council with in-kind support from Reminder Publications. For more information on the exhibit and WOW events, visit westfieldonweekends.com and WOW’s Facebook page.
“Journey Stories is a series that really tries to spotlight individual groups of people that we all need to appreciate and recognize,” added Plasse. “For me, it’s one of the most important programs of Westfield on Weekends, because in challenging times like these, we need to recognize that similarities and the differences that we all have with one another and through the work of Westfield on Weekends at our center downtown, we are introducing audiences to the richness of the lives of people they may not know much about.”
