Carnegie Center for Art & History

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Threads of Strength and Fortitude: Penny Sisto’s Slavery Series

March 24-April 15, 2006

Opening Reception is Friday, March 24, 2006, 6-8 pm

"The Tunnel Quilt" (detail) 60" x 48"
by: Penny Sisto

The Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit, Threads of Strength and Fortitude: Penny Sisto’s Slavery Series. Renowned Floyd County fiber artist Penny Sisto presents a new series of textile works combining embroidery, appliqué, quilting, beading and collage techniques. In Threads of Strength and Fortitude, Sisto explores the theme of slavery through poignant depictions of servitude, emancipation, and the harrowing flight to freedom. This exhibit will be on display at the Carnegie Center March 24-April 15, 2006.

The Carnegie Center is also proud to announce the opening of another exhibit on this date, the new permanent exhibit Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage: Men and Women of the Underground Railroad in the Indiana and Kentucky Borderland. There will be an opening reception for both exhibits on Friday, March 24, from 6-8 pm. Visitors can enjoy refreshments as they explore these compelling complimentary exhibits. This event is free and the public is invited to attend. The opening reception is sponsored by National City.

On this new series, Penny writes, "As an artist I explore the quilt of history that binds us together, this is OUR story, from the dank bowels of the ships to the brave souls who worked for Freedom and Equality. It is easy to rejoice in the birth of Jazz on the cobblestones of Congo Square, but harder to place ourselves below or above deck on those crowded ships… I have tried to look at our history, the landscape of my Land, our Land, with a quilter’s eye. I am proud of the role that women played. Women led, women followed, heroines such as Harriet Tubman, and countless nameless women who toiled anonymously behind the scenes. For my inadequacies in scope and vision I apologize… in areas where I succeed in bringing some of this history to life, I add my wee stitch to the great multifaceted quilt that is America."

Artist Penny Sisto was born in the Orkney Islands off the northern tip of Scotland. She began learning how to sew at age 3, taught by her grandmother. As an adult, Sisto worked for the British Ministry of Overseas Development, using her skills as a midwife to aid health clinics for the Maasai, LuBukusu and Kikuyu tribes of East Africa. Her time in Africa inspired her to combine the quilting, embroidery and appliqué techniques she learned from her grandmother with the beading and collage methods of her African friends, resulting in the distinctive style seen in her work today. Sisto’s work has been exhibited in New York as well as Edinburgh, Scotland and Nairobi, Kenya, and her pieces can be found in the collections of Texas Oil, Gettysburg College, Spalding University, and the Thomas Merton International Studies Center, among others. She currently resides in Floyds Knobs, Indiana. Visit www.pennysisto.com for more information on this remarkable artist.

Picking Cotton
44" x 36"

Ran Away
23" x 22"

The Carnegie Center for Art & History
201 East Spring Street
New Albany, Indiana 47150

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