Portraits of Resistance and Resilience Exhibition

Honoring African-American Women with Wake County Roots

Exhibition Live at the ArtsCenter from January 27th – March 3rd. Opening Reception featuring music by Libba Cotten on February 14th from 6-8:30.

Inspired by the work of fiber artist, Sauda Zahra, and with her patient guidance, 12 members of West Raleigh Presbyterian Church and Wilson Temple United Methodist Church embarked on a nine-month journey to make art portrait quilts to share with the community.

These quilts honor African-American women with Wake County roots living during Reconstruction through the Civil Rights era—women who, in spite of overwhelming societal limitations, found ways to develop and use their skills to improve the lives of their families and countless others. Among them are educators, activists, servicewomen, librarians, authors, business owners, and musicians. Four women have strong connections to Raleigh’s Oberlin Village, North Carolina’s longest surviving freedman’s colony where Wilson Temple UMC has been located since 1865.