The artist's New Museum retrospective offers a study in how major artists can go long overlooked.

The artist's New Museum retrospective offers a study in how major artists can go long overlooked.

Faith Ringgold has been fighting racism and inspiring joy in her art for decades. See six works to know by the artist.

Let’s express ourselves by making a Faith Ringgold inspired paper quilt work of art.

“Everybody’s trying to tell me what to do. I say to hell with all of them. I’ll do it my way.” Artist, activist, educator and writer Faith Ringgold has maintained perseverance in the face of rejection for much of her seventy-year career. She finally has her first European solo show at Pippy Houldsworth.

The artist's New Museum retrospective offers a study in how major artists can go long overlooked.

The artist's New Museum retrospective offers a study in how major artists can go long overlooked.

The narrative quilt tells the story of runaway enslaved people escaping north through the Underground Railroad.

In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...

“Everybody’s trying to tell me what to do. I say to hell with all of them. I’ll do it my way.” Artist, activist, educator and writer Faith Ringgold has maintained perseverance in the face of rejection for much of her seventy-year career. She finally has her first European solo show at Pippy Houldsworth.

Guerrilla Girls share an MLK-inspired letter the artist sent them in 1994.

Arguably no other artist in the past century has been able to combine aesthetics with political impact like the Harlem native. Ahead of her first New York retrospective, she fields questions from friends and admirers.

The pioneering mixed-media artist stitched stories of the African-American experience into her innovative quilts.

A consummate artist, Faith Ringgold has developed a practice that consists of painting, mixed media sculpting, performing, and quilting. Born October 8, 1930, in Harlem, New York, Ringgold’s mother was…

Painting by Faith Ringgold

The artist’s work has told stories ranging from memories of the Harlem renaissance to disputes with racist neighbours – and at 88, she’s still got plenty to say

Lesson idea from Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue! 3rd graders started a conversation about what textile arts are by reading the book "Tar Beach" by author and artist Faith Ringgold. We talked about how the book and its illustrations were actually inspired by a story quilt that Ringgold created (the original work is pictured in the back of the book I had). The story in the book brought up the themes of both inequality (which works well since February is Black History Month) and imagination. The book's main character 3rd grader Cassie Louise Lightfoot discovers she has the ability to fly and in doing so, finds a sense of power and ownership over whatever she flies. She flies over the George Washington Bridge (a structure her father helped to build), an ice cream factory, and the Union Building (a building which housed an organization her father was not allowed to join because of his skin color). After reading and discussing the themes in the book, I asked my 3rd graders "Where would you go if you could fly (real or imaginary) and why?" This question was the inspiration for our very own patches on our 3rd grade story quilt. Students created their own "story patches" by creating a border using squares of 1.5"x1.5" decorative paper along the edge of a 12" x 12" piece of white drawing paper. Students then attached a strip of grey paper to the bottom of their picture squares and wrote about where they would go and why. Then in the remaining space, they used colored pencils to illustrate their ideas. I got a huge range of responses from Candyland (naturally to eat a ton of candy), to Columbia (to visit friends and family), to the Twin Towers in New York City (which prompted an entirely difference conversation). Students really enjoyed working on this project (which took between 4-5 class periods -- including one day for sketching ideas). I really love the finished product - and even more so when they are all hung together to make a giant story quilt! :)

Discover the vibrant art of Faith Ringgold: From narrative quilts to bold paintings, explore her unique storytelling through vibrant colors and cultural narratives.

Bisa Butler is a fiber artist who uses the African-American tradition of quilting to capture slices of black life throughout history . Her pieces often feature real people — family, friends, celebrities — and incorporate both African and vintage textiles, some actual hand-me-downs from the subjects themselves. The Howard grad carefully selects fabric not only to reflect each person’s life, but also to capture their spirits and places in time. Her quilts have been exhibited all over — from the Smithsonian Institute to Epcot Center to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. HOLD ONTO YOUR WIGS. Things are about to get real eye-gasmic. Like this: Photo: @bisabutler via Instagram Bisa’s quilts have paid tribute to such icons as Paul Laurence Dunbar , Jackie Robinson , Josephine Baker , Louis Armstrong , Marvin Gaye , Nelson Mandela , President Barack and Michelle Obama and more, such as: Lauryn Hill Photo: @bisabutler via Instagram A gorgeous recreation of Miss Hill’s classic...

Lesson idea from Art. Paper. Scissors. Glue! 3rd graders started a conversation about what textile arts are by reading the book "Tar Beach" by author and artist Faith Ringgold. We talked about how the book and its illustrations were actually inspired by a story quilt that Ringgold created (the original work is pictured in the back of the book I had). The story in the book brought up the themes of both inequality (which works well since February is Black History Month) and imagination. The book's main character 3rd grader Cassie Louise Lightfoot discovers she has the ability to fly and in doing so, finds a sense of power and ownership over whatever she flies. She flies over the George Washington Bridge (a structure her father helped to build), an ice cream factory, and the Union Building (a building which housed an organization her father was not allowed to join because of his skin color). After reading and discussing the themes in the book, I asked my 3rd graders "Where would you go if you could fly (real or imaginary) and why?" This question was the inspiration for our very own patches on our 3rd grade story quilt. Students created their own "story patches" by creating a border using squares of 1.5"x1.5" decorative paper along the edge of a 12" x 12" piece of white drawing paper. Students then attached a strip of grey paper to the bottom of their picture squares and wrote about where they would go and why. Then in the remaining space, they used colored pencils to illustrate their ideas. I got a huge range of responses from Candyland (naturally to eat a ton of candy), to Columbia (to visit friends and family), to the Twin Towers in New York City (which prompted an entirely difference conversation). Students really enjoyed working on this project (which took between 4-5 class periods -- including one day for sketching ideas). I really love the finished product - and even more so when they are all hung together to make a giant story quilt! :)

“I want the story to be told so that people understand what’s going on.” Above all else, Faith Ringgold is an avid, entrancing storyteller, weaving the darker side of African American history into her richly complex works of art. Though her practice spans a broad range of media, she is perhaps best known for her...

Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, the renovated space includes an additional 165,000 square-feet of gallery space, while making the artwork more accessible to the public

In 1963, Faith Ringgold was 32, the mother of two daughters, and on the hunt for a gallery to show her work. To say that it was difficult for black artists to find gallery representation at that time would be a gross understatement. Nevertheless, as Ringgold tells it in her memoirs, We Flew over the […]

1. Academy Theater, Inglewood California, 1940 Still standing, screened movies from 1933 until it became a church in 1975. It got it’s name “The Academy Theater” because it was originally built to be the home and venue for the Academy Awards (the Oscars). But the plans changed. Photographed by Julius Shulman, found here. 2. ‘Sciopticon’…

In my journey to learn more about the history of quilting and fiber arts, I have discovered some incredible makers, artists, thinkers and leaders. A couple weeks ago we talked about one of our founding Quilt Mothers, Nancy Crow, Marti Michell, Rachel Clark and Judith Scott. Today, I bring you someone who is not justContinue Reading...

On the eve of a major retrospective at the New Museum in NYC, the 91-year-old artist's daughter, Michele Wallace, pays tribute to her iconic work, Dancing at the Louvre.

With a major new retrospective, Faith Ringgold is finally getting her due in the art world. But as the artist, now 91, recalls, acceptance was never the point.

WORKS BY MORE THAN 60 ARTISTS, including Faith Ringgold, are featured in the international traveling exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. Nearly all the artists are B...