The quiltmakers of Gee's Bend

DVD - 2004

An all-black community founded by freed slaves after the Civil War, Gee's Bend is nestled into a curve in the Alabama River southwest of Selma. The women of Gee's Bend quilt, using any piece of material available--from feed sacks to old work clothes. Being one of the only creative outlets these women had, the women developed unique techniques and styles, comparable to the great artistic enclaves of the Italian Renaissance. In 1994, these quiltmakers were "discovered" an art historian. Now their humble quilts, made to keep families in drafty log cabins warm, hang in museums and sell for thousands of dollars. This is their story.