Honoring your ancestors through quilting

Central Floridians will learn how Black Americans impacted the arts, music,

and more at an event in downtown Orlando this weekend.

The Orange County Regional History Center is putting on the Honoring Black Heritage and Culture Event for the second year in a row.

The event is also a part of the Smithsonian’s Cultural Sustainability and Legacy Planning for Craft Artist project.

As part of Honoring Black Heritage and Culture, eight artists from Central Florida will showcase their crafts and how culture is rooted in their work.

Lisa Moore is one of the artists whose work will be on display at the event.

She created two improvisational quilts with fabrics mostly donated to Hannibal Square Heritage Center.

“I will always use fabrics that have been worn by whoever to tell the next story of that person. And as just a visual representation of that person and the life that they lived.”

Moore began to understand the significance of using used fabrics after her brother-in-law died and she made quilts from clothes he once wore.

“For example, the quilt that I made for my niece. A couple of years before my brother in law passed away, she bought him a pink seersucker polo shirt. I ended up putting that in her quilt. When she saw it, she just completely melted because she had that instant connection that this is something that she had given her father and he wore it. So for me, that’s a part of that storytelling part of quilting that I absolutely love.”

The two improvisational quilts Moore made are monochromatic, with one being various shades of red and the other various shades of blue.

She said she is still debating titles. “I think it may be called ‘When I think of Home’ because within that quilt, even though the fabrics are random, it does have a slight pattern. It’s a log cabin pattern. So if you look closely, you’ll see a house in a sense in the pattern of it.”

Honoring Central Florida’s diversity

Honoring Black Heritage and Cultural event is apart of the History Center’s larger initiative called Central Florida’s Diverse Heritage, Arts, and Culture.

Katie Kelley, Curator of Education at the History Center, said funding from a Florida Humanities grant made the initiative possible.

“The real idea behind hosting this initiative is to show Central Florida is an incredibly diverse community, really high percentage of either immigrant or first generation families living here. There are lots of different languages spoken. We want to celebrate that. It is part of what makes this such a unique and interesting place.”

Kelley hopes that attendees leave the event with more understanding of the diversity in Central Florida and a sense of pride for their community.

A feeling of community and connection is also what Lisa Moore hopes attendees leave the event with.

“Everyone is basically from the community, and within that community, there are so many creative people, and everyone has a story. Those stories are very unique.”

Moore hopes the event may inspire some to pursue crafts through the connections they make.

Attending the event

Honoring Black Heritage & Culture will be on Saturday, February 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Orange County Regional History Center.

City of Orlando poet laureate Shawn Welcome will kick off the event with opening remarks and poetry. There will also be music, performances, and activities for the whole family.

“It is very family friendly, something for all ages. We like to say we create programming for nine months through 90 years, so it’s something for everyone,” said Katie Kelley.

The event is free to attend.

For more information, visit the Orange County Regional History Center website or their Instagram.