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Exhibition Program: Sewing and Surveying Borders
Much like a map, piecing together a quilt allows a maker to reflect on their personal relationship to many small elements that constitute a whole. Quilts and other domestic products often made by women serve as important records of social events otherwise left out of the country’s broader narrative.
Join Niloo Paydar and D.C. artists Aynex Mercado and Georgia Yuan in the exhibition Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts for a conversation linking the historical examples on display with their own contemporary quilting practices.
About the Exhibition
Quilts, like maps, trace the personal stories and experiences of makers and their communities, often illuminating larger historical events and cultural trends. Handstitched Worlds: The Cartography of Quilts draws from the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, with examples ranging from traditional early-American quilts to contemporary sculptural assemblages. Learn more about the exhibition
About Aynex Mercado
Aynex Mercado was born in Puerto Rico in 1978. After moving to the United States, a car accident and the resulting loss of dexterity of her dominant hand changed the trajectory of her life. The experience awakened a passion for handicraft and the arts. Mercado pursued a degree in digital design and is now a web designer at the National Cancer Institute.
About Georgia Yuan
Georgia Yuan is a Washington, D.C.-based quiltmaker. Always interested in fabric, her quilt making started in earnest about 20 years ago with the celebration of family events. Yuan’s quilts explore color and design, and she has recently been inspired by the emergence of Asian themed quilting cottons. Her passion for quilting counterbalances a career as a lawyer in higher education.
About Niloo Paydar
Niloo Paydar is curator emerita of textile and fashion arts at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. During her tenure, she organized more than 35 exhibitions, which traveled nationally and internationally, and authored numerous catalogs. She received several National Endowment for the Arts grants and other awards in her field, and served on advisory boards of national textile and costume professional organizations.
How to Participate
This program will take place in person at the museum. Space is limited, so please register online to reserve your spot.