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By Pam Nolan

Special to The Greenville Advocate

The Greenville Camellia Society (GCS) has earned a competitive mini grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA). This award will help make possible the Gee’s Bend Quilt Exhibition to be held at the Beeland Park Community Center on Feb. 15 – 16, 2025. 

An Artisans Market will be presented at the same time with both events being held in conjunction with the Society’s Greenville Camellia Show. 

“We are thrilled to receive a grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance and honored to have their support,” said GCS President Jan Newton. “The Gee’s Bend Quilt Exhibition is part of a weekend program to entice visitors and locals to celebrate the history and heritage of The Camellia City. In addition to the Quilt Exhibition and Artisans Market at Beeland Park, our annual Greenville Camellia Show will be held at LBW Community College that weekend. We are looking forward to thousands of visitors!”

Gee’s Bend’s visual and cultural contributions to the history of textile arts within the United States is recognized for both its storied history and its creative present. The quilts are vibrant, inventive and improvisational as only a modernistic art form based on folk traditions can be.

The Gee’s Bend Exhibition will afford an opportunity for local residents and visitors alike to honor Black History Month, explore a cultural tradition and support an amazing economic enterprise in a neighboring county.

Melanie Stonestreet is the Artisans Liaison spearheading the project at Beeland Park.

“We will have a wonderful assortment of artisans who will have a variety of wares for sale,” Stonestreet said. “We are pleased to announce that in addition to our Artisans Market and the Gee’s Bend Quilt Exhibition, we will have a guest speaker each day.” 

Betty Anderson of the Camden Shoe Shop and Quilt Museum will discuss her family’s heritage quilt collection on Saturday, the 15th. On Sunday, Ryan Blocker, Museum Collections Coordinator of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, will give a presentation about the Archives’ historic quilt collection. Stonestreet said, “We will also have food trucks available on site both days. We are so excited to bring these events to Greenville.”

This is the first time the Greenville Camellia Society has received a grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the primary source of grants for public humanities programming in the state. 

“We’re honored to support cultural organizations that make Alabama a richer, smarter and more vibrant place to live and learn,” says Chuck Holmes, executive director of the Alabama Humanities Alliance. “Our grant recipients are community cornerstones and creative storytellers that explore what it means to be human. They help us better understand ourselves, our neighbors and the wider world around us.” 

The Alabama Humanities Alliance is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Its mission is to foster learning, understanding and appreciation of Alabama’s people, communities and cultures. The ultimate goal: To use the humanities to bring Alabamians together and make our state a better place to live. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.