When we think of historical exhibits, the objects on display are often the work of those long gone. However, that’s not the case in the Ruth Davis Design Gallery exhibit currently on display. The gallery is located on the UW Madison campus in Nancy Nicholas Hall.
The gallery is officially open to the public, and should you find yourselves within its walls, you will see a collection demonstrating the connection between politics and everyday textiles.
Entitled Politics at Home: Textiles as American History and curated by the Center for Design and Material Culture, it features work from the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection; and spans the 18th century to today.
On display in a large plexiglass box is a quilt whose broad stripes and bright stars come from someplace…unexpected.
In this edition of Radio Chipstone is an excerpt from Refrangible, a podcast created by contributor Gianofer Fields and WORTs Assistant News Director Jonah Chester. Fields takes us to the front porch of Sharon Williams. A maker who is as vibrant and alive as her quilt.
About the host
Sharom Williams is a Quilter from Gees Bend. Her work can be found on ETSY at SHAS-SHOP-GEES-BEND _ https://www.etsy.com/shop/ShasShopGeesBend. Gianofer (JON nah fer) Fields is an Art Historian and Material Culture contributor and curates the Radio Chipstone series. She is also the host of Refrangible, available on Spotify, Stitcher, iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts. The project is hosted by the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and funded by the Chipstone Foundation; a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.
