The Legacy Quilt

The tradition of quilts in African American culture runs deep. Quilts have long been associated with expressions of celebration, remembrance, and respect.

The Legacy Quilt is a handmade quilt composed of 406 blocks, each one representing one African American contribution to American cuisine. Standing at 14 feet tall and nearly 30 feet wide, this awe-inspiring object makes a powerful point: there are countless stories that deserve recognition.

The African/American: Making the Nation’s Table exhibition Advisory Board—28 of the country's most distinguished scholars, writers, chefs, and food and drink producers—was tasked with coming up with names of iconic figures and noteworthy moments in food culture. Those for the contemporary period were easier to add and discover; individuals and items for the 17th, 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries were more daunting. So, the curatorial team began to research African Americans and food's more profound history and came up with more names and concepts and contributions, and the list grew. The culmination of this research was vetted by Dr. Scott Barton alongside Dr. Jessica B. Harris, the exhibition’s lead curator. Writer Osayi Endolyn was tasked with amplifying and verifying the biographies and creating a series of brief synopses that would be used to inform visitors about the quilt’s contents.

Chef James Hemings introduced French cuisine to American palates. Edna Lewis pioneered the modern farm-to-table movement. Frederick McKinley Jones invented a technology and founded a company that made modern global cold chain transport possible. These are just some of the stories of African Americans who have shaped our country’s culinary identity. Explore these and many other incredible stories through the Legacy Quilt.

Founded in 2005, Harlem Needle Arts (HNA) is an “arts and cultural organization at the forefront of revolutionizing, preserving and expanding the narrative of fiber, textile, design, and needle arts in the African Diaspora.”

They were commissioned to take the lead in conceiving of and creating the Legacy Quilt. HNA hand-picked a variety of period-appropriate, representational, and reproduction fabrics — pieces ranging from the early 1600s through the 2000s. Fabrics include cotton, corduroy, flannel, gingham, muslin, chintz, croaker, calico, chambray, wool, brocade, toile, and denim along with batiks, Adire, and Ankara prints. The design of each quilt block incorporates signs, symbols and embellishments that include colors and patterns that are uniquely representative of the African/American aesthetic.

Noted graphic designer Adrian Franks created 400 illustrations, which have been printed onto fabric, then skillfully cropped, and appliqued onto its respective quilt block by artists. Journalist Osayi Endolyn contributed a blurb for each block, outlining that particular contribution to American cuisine.

HARLEM NEEDLE ARTS

Michelle Bishop, Executive Director

Laura Gadson, Quilting Artist

Sylvia Hernandez, Quilting Artist

Ife Felix, Quilting Artist

The Q Affect Photography LLC

CREATIVE CONTENT

Adrian Franks, Graphic Designer

Osayi Endolyn, Writer

DIGITAL DESIGN

SMAKK Studios