Creativity Q+A with Marsha MacDowell: HIStory / HERstory Exhibit

The history of western art has been predominantly about objects made by white men, who also determined whose voice and what stories were heard.

That reality began to shift in the late 20^th century and continues today.

As a result, it is now an accepted fact that the people who are making visual art represent all races, genders, and world views.

Quilts are a particularly interesting way to examine those advances in our understanding of what themes, ideas, materials, and techniques are worthy of legitimate consideration.

As part of the HIStory / HERstory exhibition we’re asking: Why should quilts be taken seriously?

No one better than Marsha MacDowell to discuss this question.

Since 1977 Marsha has been a curator at the Michigan State University Museum; and has served as coordinator of the Michigan Traditional Arts Program. Her research into and advocacy of the quilt has taken many forms – from exhibitions to published books to the development of the Quilt Index, a digital repository of thousands of images and stories about quilts, of which she is the director.