Denise Valentine weaves stories and textile tales that delight and enlighten. In collaboration with the National African American Quilt Conference, come join Denise at the Lawrence Arts Center on July 13 from 12-1pm in the large gallery as she shares the secrets of African cultural patterns and symbols.

During the period of enslavement in America, plantation owners forbid certain customs and traditions. Coded messages were sung in spirituals and sewn on quilts; expressed in stories and proverbs, carved on wood, and woven into cloth the stories survived. Others were disguised in the double-talk and wit of trickster tales, tall tales and riddles. Denise Valentine will share all of this with 4-14 year olds and their families, surrounded by Boldly Stitched, a group exhibition of contemporary quilt-making that is part of the National African American Quilt Conference.