Possible Programs*
1. QUILTS BRING HISTORY ALIVE We all wonder how people dressed, traveled, and behaved in generations past, and we need only to look to quilts to find out. Since quilts were made, not by artists, but by ordinary women whose lives they closely reflect, they are founts of information about the people and periods they represent. In this episode we will explore the quilt’s unique ability to preserve, not only our own family histories, but the history of America beyond the reach of memory. 2. WHAT IS ART? You think you know art when you see it, but this episode of “Why Quilts Matter” may make you think again. Turns out the quilt is the perfect test case for a dozen theories about what makes art, well…art. Take the art verses craft debate: As a domestic object made by women for a practical purpose, the quilt falls squarely into the “craft” category, and a humble one, at that. But do some quilts become “art” when exhibited like paintings, on a museum wall? 3. EMPOWERING WOMEN In this episode we look at the quilt’s historical and current roles as an avenue of personal expression, a sly medium of social and political opinion, and a building block of financial security for women. Curators, quilt makers, and scholars discuss the surprising number of ways in which the quilt has been and continues to be, woven into the histories and psyches of our mothers, our sisters, ourselves. * NOTE: These programs are 25 minute videos from the PBS series, Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics |
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