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1998 – 2018 The AAQC celebrates 20 years of quilting
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The African American Quilt Circle (AAQC) was founded in Durham, NC, in 1998 by four African American women: Bertie Howard, Jereann King, Candace Thomas and Helen Sanders.
The primary purpose for starting the group was to preserve the heritage of quilting in the African American community. Twenty years later, the AAQC has grown into an arts group with over 60 members of quilters and quilt aficionados who live in the Triangle and surrounding areas, including Warrenton and Wilmington, the East coast (Virginia and Pennsylvania), and Central America (Panama).
The AAQC takes seriously its charge to maintain the heritage of quilting in the black community and is committed to supporting community projects.
Through its various outreach activities and achievements, the AAQC is highly respected and recognized as a major quilting group in Durham and North Carolina. The AAQC is proud of its accomplishments in the past twenty years in promoting the quilting tradition, educating Durham and the Triangle Area about the rich quilting heritage in the African American community, and supporting the community.
The group meets monthly at the Hayti Heritage Center in Durham.
Members gather to share quilting tips and resources, provide ongoing instruction for new members and support for experienced quilters, and extend the bond of sisterhood. AAQC curates exhibits every eighteen months at Hayti during the Blues Festival and Black History Month. The exhibits showcase the artworks of members ranging from traditional block designs and hand quilting, to original designs, machine quilting, and contemporary three-dimensional fiber arts.
AAQC Awards and Recognitions
2003
AAQC exhibition, Quilting from the Heart with Soul, voted one of the 10 Best Art Exhibitions of 2003 by the Durham Herald Sun Newspaper.
2010
AAQC received The Indies 2010 Triangle Arts Awards, given annually by the Independent Weekly newspaper to honor outstanding local artists and arts groups who have demonstrated long-term commitment to the region and have a history of spreading our cultural wealth as widely as possible.
2010
AAQC was selected to participate in the 2010-2011 Durham Arts Council Exhibit Season, and held Life Through Quilts: Works by the African-American Quilt Circle of Durham Exhibition (August – October 2010).