2018 AAQC Quilt Show

September 21st, 2018 - December 31st, 2018

The members of the African American Quilt Circle have regularly shared their magnificent, memorable quilted art work with the Durham community for 20 years at Hayti Heritage Center shows that feature their vibrant, soulful visual images in cloth. This year a new dimension has been added to their quilted art: SOUND! created by musicians and spoken word artists. Their poetry and jazz, to be presented at the show’s opening on September 21st, was the inspiration and challenge for AAQC’s fiber artists to hear, interpret and then create unique, vibrant visual pieces reflecting what they ‘heard.’ These works of art will be enriched with a wide variety of unique quilted art pieces throughout the gallery.

The Annual Black History: Artists’ Perspectives Exhibition

February 2, 2018 through March 11, 2018

The annual Black History: Artists’ Perspectives exhibition opens on Friday, February 2, 2018 with a reception from 6 until 8 pm. Music and refreshments will be provided. The exhibition will run through March 11, 2018.

Special guest Ms. Sandra Hughes, a trailblazer in radio and television, will join our artists, whose artwork will be available for purchase. These talented painters, quilters and sculptors have featured art work across the country and internationally. Private collectors from Oprah Winfrey to Nnenna Freelon along with prominent galleries and museums feature work from some of our participants.

QUEST

September 21, 2017

Filmed over the course of ten years, QUEST is a thoughtful and nuanced observation of the Rainey family—led by father Christopher (“Quest”) and mother Christine (“Ma”). From the start, first-time filmmaker Jonathan Olshefski captures tender images of this family’s love: Ma braids her husband’s and daughter PJ’s hair, joking and laughing; Quest brings PJ to school on the front of his bike each day; and both work tirelessly to ensure financial and emotional support for each other. Planted in the middle of a North Philadelphia block, the Rainey house is a sublimely run neighborhood hub. Quest’s creation of a weekly drop-in basement radio show draws a constant flux of characters while illustrating the strong sense of community within this neighborhood. As Quest and Ma raise their children, Olshefski weaves pivotal life experiences with grander issues of poverty, politics, and gun violence. QUEST is an ode to the unwavering love and resilience of a specific family, and a universal reminder that family can give us the strength to keep on going.