August 1 – October 4, 2026

Quilts are histories. They comfort, conform, reveal, and challenge. Histories in Thread: Honoring Heirlooms in Contemporary Quilting brings together seven nationally and internationally recognized textile artists whose work explores creativity, culture, identity, and family history. Using fabric as both medium and storyteller, the artists demonstrate how quilting traditions can preserve the past, speak to the present, and help shape the future.

The exhibition features techniques including piecing, embroidery, and origami-inspired folding techniques that create three-dimensional forms. Several works incorporate adinkra – symbols developed by the Akan people of present-day Ghana to express proverbs, values, and beliefs.

Histories in Thread is guest curated by Keidra Daniels Navaroli, Ph.D., an art history faculty member at the University of Central Florida, and is presented in partnership with the Quilt of Souls Historical Preservation Project. In dialogue with the rich and layered histories of Central Florida, the exhibition invites visitors to consider the stories we tell, the fragments we mend, and the communities we create. Featured artists include:

Jacqueline Colson, whose embroidered and folded-fabric works create vivid environments and honor Black historical figures.

William Daniels, an artist, philosopher, and researcher whose textile works combine traditional quilt blocks, paper piecing, embroidery, and symbolic imagery.

Sylvia Hernandez, an internationally recognized master quilter whose deeply personal works explore resilience, family, and the cultural traditions of her native Brooklyn and the Caribbean.

Diane Pryor-Holland, a quilter of more than 30 years whose work celebrates West African culture and uses quilting to strengthen and uplift communities.

Rochelle Holland, Ph.D., a scholar and artisan inspired by hip-hop culture and graffiti art, using bold colors, symbols, and lettering to celebrate and empower Black figures.

Narcita Medina, a quilter, educator, and community leader whose work highlights quilting’s role in history, activism, remembrance, and emotional healing.

Thadine Wormly, a textile artist whose work draws on African American history, West African-inspired patterns, and the enduring importance of learning from the past.