The 18th annual Atlanta Quilt Festival is currently underway at the Southwest Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and will continue through September 5. This year’s festival features over 150 quilts, including a non-juried exhibit titled Music Moves Movements, which explores the role music has played in political movements and social change throughout history.

Quilts and Music

Some of the quilts on display were inspired by songs such as Nina Simone’s ‘Mississippi Goddam’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On.’ The festival’s CEO, O.V. Brantley, titled her quilt ‘From Mockery to Majesty,’ inspired by the song ‘Yankee Doodle.’ Brantley, who grew up in segregated Crossett, Arkansas, said, ‘And for me growing up in the South around people who try to make you feel less than you are, the trick is to prove them wrong.’

The festival began 18 years ago as a small show among family and friends and has since grown into a nonprofit event drawing quilters from around the country. Featured gallery exhibits have increasingly incorporated social justice themes, including last year’s exhibit on censorship and quilts inspired by the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

Awards and Exhibits

First-place winners in this year’s juried competition include Carolyn White in the African American Heritage Quilt category for ‘Call Me Alkebulan-Mother of Mankind-Africa from A to Z;’ Jacquelyn Simpson in the Art Quilt category for ‘Hexy Lady;’ and Betsy Kulamer in the Modern Quilt category for ‘Kaleidoscope 2.’ Melinda Rushing earned two first-place awards, winning the Small Quilt category for ‘The Warmth We Inherit’ and the Traditional Quilt category for ‘Otomi Fiesta Full.’

The Music Moves Movements collection is also designed to travel, with a scheduled exhibit at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s museum in March. Visitors to the Atlanta Quilt Festival can also listen to a soundtrack connected to the works as they move through the exhibit.

Original reporting: SaportaReport — read the source article.