Gee’s Bend and Alberta, Alabama – Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy and Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, two local non-profits, are excited to welcome visitors from around the world to the 2025 Airing of the Quilts Festival in Gee’s Bend Alabama! On Saturday, October 4th, attendees will experience a celebration of the history, art, and cultures that has been formed over a period of 200-plus years. Both of these organizing sponsors of the festival have been operating & activating in the Gee’s Bend community, providing economic opportunities and tourism outreach for local artists and residents.
Over the past four years, these organizations have provided festival goers with insight into the remarkable and resilient history of Gee’s Bend. “Quilting is a way of life for us and we are grateful for the opportunity to share it with the world,” says Claudia Charley, co- founder of Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders. “The airing of quilts is a tradition that spans the lifetime of our communities. The women here pull out our quilts from the summer stored places to freshen them on the outdoor quilt lines for use in the coming cold winter months.”
The Airing of the Quilts Festival serves as an opportunity for attendees to learn about the community and its traditions. It traces the living story of Gee’s Bend from the area’s origins of enslavement, through its significance in the Civil Rights Movement, to present day as one of America’s most renowned artist communities after decades of disenfranchisement.
“This hamlet of only a few hundred people has had an outsized impact on art, history and fashion in America,” says Kim Kelly, executive director of the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy. “The quilts of this locale are prominently installed in over forty (40) museums around the world. There isn’t a community of this size so recognized in the world of art. Even today, world renowned fashion designers collaborate with the quilters to forge their latest creations.”
adidas is the latest collaboration with the Gee’s Bend quilters. Their community commitment extends to being the presenting sponsor for the 2025 Airing of the Quilts festival. The global sportswear brand is widely recognized for its innovative products and commitment to sustainability, inclusion, and creativity. The brand has a long history of supporting creative communities and cultural initiatives. With its commitment to promoting diversity, craftsmanship, and innovation, adidas is a fitting partner for the Airing of the Quilts Festival. This collaboration will celebrate legacy, artistic expression, community, and the timeless craft of quilt making.
In keeping with the festival’s tradition, Souls Grown Deep has curated an exhibition of the life, art and progeny of Ms. Dinah Miller – a survivor of the Clotilda, the last slave ship brought to America into Mobile Bay. Ms Miller settled in Gee’s Bend in the 1890s.
The exhibition is installed at the River Gallery of the Welcome Center – “Between History and Memory: Dinah Miller’s Legacy in Gee’s Bend honors the life, family, and enduring legacy of Dinah Miller (née Jenkins). Dinah was forcibly brought to Alabama from West Africa as a young girl in 1860, likely aboard the last known slave ship to enter US waters, the Clotilda, 52 years after Congress outlawed the importation of enslaved people. Having settled in Gee’s Bend in the 1890s, Dinah is the earliest known named quilter in the area and the progenitor of a vast familial network of Gee’s Bend quilters that flourishes artistically to this day. This exhibition aims to celebrate and contextualize Dinah’s life within a broader historical framework, telling the story of one individual’s arrival in Gee’s Bend and her enduring influence on the community, its cultural traditions, and the history of American art.”
This event is open to the public where they can enjoy food, live music and a full day exploring American history. Registration is free with a recommended donation of $40 to support the quilt-making community and to keep festival costs low. Additional fees apply to quilt-making workshops, demonstrations, face painting and tours.
To learn more, please visit www.airingofthequilts.org.
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