In the South Gallery
December 19, 2025, through March 17, 2026
Reception and Artist Talk: Saturday, January 31, 1-3 pm, in the Trefz Forum; click here for more information.
(Reception kicks off at 1 pm, followed by an artist talk at 2 pm with author and Gee's Bend quilting expert Tangular Irby. Additionally, there will be a quilt sale at the Library from 12 to 5 pm that same day.)
About the Exhibit
This winter, The Westport Library will feature a multi-gallery quilting exhibition that will span the Sheffer, South, and Jesup Galleries from December 19, 2025, through March 17, 2026. Like a patchwork quilt itself, the show will weave together three distinct yet interconnected exhibits — each exploring how art and narrative bind communities across generations and geographies.
The South Gallery will display A Traveling Legacy: From Gee’s Bend to the Nutmeg State, showcasing quilts crafted by descendants of the celebrated Gee’s Bend, Alabama, who are now based in Connecticut. This exhibit traces the enduring legacy of Dinah Miller — one of the first documented Gee’s Bend quilters — and her descendants’ journey from Africa to Alabama to Bridgeport.
Gee's Bend quilts can be found in US museums and abroad. They are on postage stamps, journals, rugs, and more. Most recently, Gee’s Bend quilters were featured vendors in Target stores for Black History Month. The quits tell the story of the sweat and tears, the resilience and faith and the hopes and dreams that continue to run through the veins of Gee’s Bend descendants.
For this special show, the Southern Connecticut Modern Quilt Guild collaborated with their Gee's Bend quilting friends in both Alabama and Bridgeport on a quilt that will be displayed for the duration of the exhibits and will later become part of the Library’s permanent art collection, along with additional availability to schools and other town buildings.
Artist Statement
We are not an organization. We are women bound by our Gee's Bend connections and roots. Many of us are related. We are the descendants Dinah Miller, who was captured and abducted in Benin, Africa and illegally transported to Alabama in 1860 aboard the Clotilda, the last known U.S. slave ship. She is credited as one of the first documented quilters in Gee's Bend. I had been told many years ago that the way the women in Gee's Bend quilt is very similar to how the women in Benin weave. Now we know why.
About Tangular Irby
Tangular A. Irby is a speaker, author, and educator. She holds a BS in Business Administration, a Masters in the Art of Teaching, and a 6th Year in Educational Leadership. She has worked professionally with all grade levels, Pre-K through 12.
She is the host of The Legacy of our African American Lives Podcast and has published seven books, including Pearl and her Gee’s Bend Quilt. Her love of children's literature developed during her time as a second grade teacher. Tangular is the proud granddaughter of Gee’s Bend quilters Pearlie Kennedy Pettway and Jensie Lee Irby. Sharing their history is her way to honor their legacy.
Tangular has traveled, virtually and in-person, sharing her story with schools, libraries, quilt guilds and parent groups with the goal of inspiring others to research and document their own stories.
***
For more about the Library art exhibits, visit the Art at the Library page.
