About Us
The African American Quilt Documentation Study Group is dedicated to the identification, documentation, and preservation of African American quilting traditions across the United States.
Our Mission
African American quilts are among the most significant and underrepresented artifacts in American material culture. They carry within their stitches the stories of families, communities, migrations, and resistance — histories that have too often been overlooked by mainstream institutions.
The AAQDSG was founded on the belief that every quilt deserves a record. Our work brings together scholars, community members, families, and institutions to create a permanent, accessible archive of this irreplaceable heritage.
We document not just the objects themselves, but the people who made them — their names, their communities, their techniques, and the stories passed down through generations. This is living history, and we are committed to keeping it alive.
Community First
We work in partnership with quilters, families, and communities — not as outside observers, but as collaborators in the preservation of their own heritage.
Scholarly Rigor
Our documentation standards meet museum-grade archival requirements, ensuring that every record is accurate, verifiable, and built to last.
Open Access
We believe this history belongs to everyone. Our archive is publicly searchable, and we actively work to make our resources available to researchers, educators, and families.
Cultural Respect
We approach every quilt and every maker with the reverence they deserve, honoring the cultural and spiritual significance of this art form.
Our History
The AAQDSG grew out of a series of informal documentation workshops held in the Mississippi Delta in the early 2000s. A small group of scholars and community members recognized that quilts were disappearing — sold, discarded, or simply lost — faster than they could be recorded.
What began as a regional effort to document quilts in a handful of counties has grown into a national organization with contributors in 38 states and a database of more than 2,400 documented quilts.
Today the AAQDSG is recognized as a leading authority on African American quilt documentation, partnering with universities, museums, and cultural institutions to expand the archive and train the next generation of documentarians.
First documentation workshop held in Sunflower County, Mississippi
AAQDSG formally incorporated as a nonprofit organization
PastPerfect Online archive launched with first 500 records
Expanded to 20 states with regional documentation coordinators
Archive surpassed 2,000 documented quilts across 35 states
2,400+ quilts documented in 38 states; national symposium launched
The Group
Founder & Quilt Historian
A'donna is a quilter and quilt historian who creates traditional and art quilts, historical replicas, and quilts inspired by African American children's stories. Inspired by the quilts of Gee's Bend, she began documenting African American quilt histories after recognizing how often the stories of quilts and their makers had gone unrecorded. That work led her to establish AAQDSG to preserve African American quilt stories and history.
Museum Liaison & Advisor
Elaine Y. Yau is Associate Curator of the Eli Leon Living Trust Collection of African American Quilts at the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. She curated Routed West: 21st Century African American Quilts in California and co-curated Rosie Lee Tompkins: A Retrospective. Her work explores art at the intersections of craft, vernacular culture, and modernism.
Digital Archivist
Lola supports the AAQDSG digital archive. She holds a BA in Anthropology from Wesleyan University and has researched cultural analysis, everyday practices, public space, folklore, collective memory, heritage, belonging, and cultural preservation. Her work brings an ethnographic perspective to the documentation and transmission of community history.
Julie Sibler
Future team member
Julie Sibler
Future team member
Julie Sibler
Future team member
Growing Our Network
The AAQDSG archive grows one story at a time — and there is always room for more. We are actively expanding our network of contributors, regional coordinators, and partner institutions. Whether you are a quilter, a family historian, a scholar, or a cultural organization, your participation strengthens the record for everyone. Every quilt documented, every story shared, and every connection made brings us closer to a complete picture of this extraordinary tradition.
400+
Contributing Families
38
States Represented
60+
Partner Institutions
20+
Years of Documentation
Get Involved
Whether you have a quilt to document, research to share, or time to volunteer, there is a place for you in this work.
Contact Us