Quilting For Social Justice with Dr. Joan Gaither

On January 31, 2011 Dr. Joan Gaither, a documentary story quilter began a "Quilting for Social Justice" workshop with the MACA Creative Collective team here at MICA. Joan, a native Baltimorean has had a history of helping to integrate local schools and businesses during the Civil Rights Movement. Recieving a BS degree from Morgan University (an historic Black College) in 1965 and her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1998, Joan says, "I continue to strive for that 'Perpetual Energy Source Award' that honored my ability to model and facilitate intergenerational participation in art education, public schools, and community arts participation. This high energy combined with an extroverted personality allows me to give, i think, a new meaning to multi- tasking.

As an artist, I've discovered that my voice is informed by an interest in mixed media, fibers, and photographic images that allow close scrutiny of surfaces and metaphors for personal meaning."