Programs & Speakers 2022-2023

Her-Story Through Quilts

Quilting is one art form in which women have made major contributions and have a long history despite limited recognition and fame in other art genres. While quilts were often created for practical or decorative purposes, many women have crafted story quilts to share their voices on religious, political, and personal topics. This presentation will focus on the anatomy of a story quilt and highlight story quilts created by a diverse group of women, including quilts made by the presenter.

 Bio: Dr. Angela Lanier, is a Washington, DC native, educator, and self-taught quilter who fell in love with the craft as an adult. Although her mother taught her hand sewing skills as a child, she did not grow up around quilters. On a whim, she tried quilting for the first time in 2005 to make gifts for babies in her family. Having never taken a quilting class, read a quilting book, or seen anyone quilt, she developed a tendency toward improvisational quilting, preferring instinct instead of structured patterns. In 2012, she joined the Uhuru Quilters Guild, an African American guild in Prince George’s County, MD, and has since made close to 100 quilts of varying sizes and styles. She has shared her work at trunk shows and exhibits in the Washington, DC area, including the Sandy Spring Museum in Sandy Spring Maryland, and Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, Maryland. During the pandemic, one of her works was included in the Gone but Never Forgotten: Remembering Those Lost to Police Brutality exhibit at The Textile Center in Minneapolis, MN and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH. In addition, she has led several quilting-related presentations at Montgomery College, where she has worked as an instructional designer since 2014.