TUTWILER — The Tutwiler Quilters are the recipient of the 2021 Mississippi Governor’s Arts Awards for Arts in Community. The awards were presented during a recent broadcast-only event.
Established in 1988, Governor’s Arts Awards are given to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding work in the artistic disciplines as well as arts-based community development and arts patronage in Mississippi.
The awards, a partnership between the Mississippi Arts Commission and the governor’s office, signify the important relationship between government and the arts.
Previous winners include Morgan Freeman, B.B. King, John Grisham, Malaco Records, Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Marty Stuart, Dorothy Moore, Mississippi Opera, Steve Azar, McCarty Pottery and more.
Schools, businesses, organizations, arts initiatives and events are eligible to receive the awards.
Winners are nominated by members of the public and selected by a jury of community arts leaders and industry peers.
Other 2021 recipients are Arthur Jafa, Excellence in Media Arts; Nellie McInnis, Excellence in Music; Raphael Semmes, Cultural Ambassador; Jesmyn Ward, Excellence in Literature; and Benjamin Wright, Lifetime Achievement.
For 32 years, Tutwiler-area women have made quilts, potholders, tote bags and more to supplement their income as they practice and preserve an almost lost utilitarian art form.
These women not only preserve a beautiful quilting style that is indigenous to the African American people in the Mississippi Delta area, they earn an income to support their family while producing one-of-a-kind Originally, these quilts were made for warmth, so they were made quickly.
The African American tradition of quilting uses bold colors, a variety of original designs and large stitches. While the quilters piece the quilt with a sewing machine, every item is hand quilted. Very few people hand quilt today.
Each item is inspected when turned in to the Tutwiler quilt director for payment. Quilters do not have to wait for their item to sell. The Tutwiler Community Education Center purchases each item as soon as it is made and inspected and then the TCEC markets and sells the hand-quilted items through a variety of collaborators across the United States.
As the Tutwiler Quilters created more quilts and quilted items, they learned more about quilt design, color coordination and creating a quality product. Most quilts are created with specific patterns in the mind of the quilter.
Tutwiler Quilters create their own patterns. Quilters say the pattern and color of the fabric “speaks to them” and that helps the quilter create the “right pattern” for their material.
One quilter said, “I look at the design and whatever comes to mind, I do it. When I make quilts, I do it mostly from my heart.”
For more information about the Tutwiler Quilters, call the Tutwiler Community Education Center at 662-345-8393, visit the website at tutwilercommunityeducationcenter.org and see more quilts on Facebook at Tutwiler Quilters.
