Journey to the White House Quilt August 27, 2009

Acclaimed fiber artist Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither returns to the Banneker-Douglass Museum with her quilt Journey to the White House. The quilt chronicles the life and political journey of President Barack Obama to the White House. This story quilt was conceptualized and started by Dr. Gaither in June 2008 and was completed at the Banneker-Douglass Museum during a public quilting workshop during the 2009 Inaugural Weekend. The quilt is a stunning mixture of text and images showing the people who influenced and laid the ground work for the election of the first African American president.

Dr. Gaither is a professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been seen in several museums including the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Maryland Historical Society, Walters Art Museum, and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Dr. Gaither previously exhibited her work at the Banneker-Douglass Museum in 2007 during the exhibition Trails, Tracks, Tarmac with a showing of three large quilts based on her family, church, and community.

Dr. Gaither's work is featured in the book Trails, Tracks, Tarmac: African American Narrative Quilts from Anne Arundel County, Maryland available for sale at the Banneker-Douglass Museum.

To learn more about the Journey to the White House quilt and Dr. Gaither's work, visit http://ObamaCommunityQuilt.blogspot.com.

Official Website: http://www.bdmuseum.com