National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Announces New Exhibit, We Who Believe in Freedom

Contact: Will Jones
Marketing and Communications Manager
(513) 333-7558
(513) 802-7355
wjones@nurfc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ated by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, Exhibit to Open to the Public Saturday, April 6

CINCINNATI, OH. (March 29, 2019) – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announced We Who Believe in Freedom, today. The exhibit will be in the Skirball Gallery and open to the public on Saturday, April 6 through Friday, July 12 during regular museum hours.

We Who Believe in Freedom is curated by Historian, Author, Lecturer and Artist, Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, who is also the founder of the Women of Color Quilters Network. We Who Believe in Freedom offers skill and aesthetic beauty of detailed imagery of the African American experience – by means of the quilt. Through artistic expression utilizing the canvas of quilts, the artists of Women of Color Quilters Network have produced works reflecting social commentary on the civil rights movement and issues of race in America. The quilts images are symbols of liberation, resistance and empowerment, layered with memories and meanings.

“This new exhibit extends the Freedom 55 experience as it offers many dynamics of how the stories of the civil rights movement can be viewed in the quilts created by the Women of Color Quilters Network,” says Jacqueline Dace, deputy director at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. “We thank Dr. Mazloomi for bringing the movement forward and challenging how we can view it from many artistic perspectives in these magnificent pieces.”

“Dr. Mazloomi and the artists that have created these phenomenal pieces have captured moments in time that truly reflect the era of the civil rights movement”, says National Underground Railroad Freedom Center President and COO, Dion Brown. “After experiencing this exhibit, guests will have an in-depth understanding on how art inspires people to express themselves, especially when using it as an outlet for justice, equality and freedom.”

Mazloomi was originally trained as an aerospace engineer and later sought to bring the many unrecognized contributions of African American quilt artists to the attention of the American people as well as the international art communities. In 1985, Mazloomi founded the Women of Color Quilters Network which is a non – profit organization that consist of 1700 members, and foster and preserves the art of quilt making and fiber art among women of color. Mazloomi’s quilts have been exhibited extensively in venues such as the Mint Museum, American Folk Art Museum in New York City, National Civil Rights Museum, Museum of Art and Design, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Mazloomi’s pictorial narrative quilts make plain of personal themes including family life, women’s rights, political freedom, and musical legacy.

We Who Believe in Freedom opens to the public Saturday, April 6 beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Tickets are $5 with general admission and free for members. For more information, visit freedomcenter.org.

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