The Gorgas House Museum, UA Museums, and the Barefield College of Arts & Sciences, in collaboration with the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, are excited to present “Cotton, Cloth, and Community: Alabama Quilting Traditions” from March 2 – May 30, 2026.

Located in the Moore-Wilson Gallery of the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center, this exhibit brings together a variety of quilting traditions from all over Alabama. From UA Museums’ Department of Museum Research and Collections, this exhibit features The Bicentennial Quilt, made by Yvonne Wells, which was created specifically for Tuscaloosa’s 200^th year anniversary. Also displayed is a quilt on loan from Charlotte Nix from the West Alabama Quilters’ Guild, along with a quilt made by University of Alabama students. Finally, this exhibit highlights a long-standing relationship between The University of Alabama and the quilters of Gee’s Bend. Four unique quilts showcase the world-renowned artistry of the women from this small enclave in central Alabama and the important role quilting played during the Civil Rights Movement. In the 1960s, the quilters of Gee’s Bend and nearby Alberta founded the Freedom Quilting Bee, a cooperative to create economic opportunities for Black women in the rural Black Belt. By manufacturing and selling quilts nationwide, the Bee helped families earn income while supporting a community deeply connected to the broader civil rights struggle. The Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy Museum continues to preserve and share the history of this remarkable cooperative while supporting the ongoing tradition of quiltmaking.

Special thanks to the Alabama Museum of Natural History for their panel on the environmental history of cotton in the state. Additional thanks to The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History for their help in curating the space.

Location:
The exhibit is located at the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center in the Moore-Wilson Gallery. The street address is 200 Bryce Lawn Dr, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401. For directions on how to get to the Randall Welcome Center, check out visit.ua.edu or call (205) 348-1101.

Hours:

The Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Contact Information:
If you have questions about this exhibit, please contact Sonya Harwood-Johnson (Director, Gorgas House Museum) by calling 205-348-5906 or emailing gorgashouse@ua.edu