‘The act of healing’: Weaving Black history and tradition

Samantha Granados, Contributing Writer

The Black American weaving tradition traces its roots to African art forms and is used to explore identity and intergenerational relationships, said Chloe Abbadessa, the art coordinator of the Children’s Museum of Richmond. 

Children ranging from the ages of 3 to 9 years old huddled together to learn the art of weaving at the “Celebrating Black Weaving Artists” event at the CMoR on Feb. 9. 

The event highlighted contemporary artists Diedrick Brackens, Karen Hampton and Zipporah Camille Thompson. Abbadessa chose to highlight these artists for this event because their weaving tells stories about Black identity, she said.

The purpose of this event was to introduce children to Black contemporary weaving artists during Black History Month, according to Abbadessa.

The event centered on teaching the under and over motion of weaving with construction paper while looking at photographs of the artist’s artwork. For older or more experienced children, mini cardboard looms were used to weave on with yarn.  

Abbadessa believes it’s important to expose children to different kinds of art and challenge them with projects that meet the Virginia Social-Emotional Learning standards while supporting school-readiness skills, like literacy and fine motor function, she said. 

Weaving is a great activity for kids because it helps develop fine motor skills and emphasizes pattern recognition with movements like over and under, up and down, left to right, etc., she said. 

The CMoR hopes any child who participated in the activity walked away with basic knowledge of the motions weavers use to make their art, according to Abbadessa. She also hopes they gained an understanding that art can look a lot of different ways and come from different people.

While some children were introduced to weaving for the first time, others like Isabella already had a passion for weaving.

Isabella received a loom as a birthday present and she learned to weave after looking at the instructions that came with it, she said. She said she has had lots of fun with weaving ever since.

Her father, Brian Campbell, mentioned his background as a Native Hawaiian and how they have a history of weaving. Her grandmother weaves quilts often, according to Campbell. 

Karen Hampton, a Black contemporary weaving artist highlighted at the event, hopes children gain an appreciation for weaving and understand how empowering history is, she said. She encourages them to follow their passions.

“The act of weaving is the act of healing,” Hampton said. “The way that your body moves during the process and everything is really allowing your body to heal.”

Hampton believes this healing essence of weaving is what makes it so important to pass the art down through different generations, especially with the generational trauma experienced through her ancestors, she said. 

“It’s almost by looking it in the face that you can take away its power,” Hampton said. 

Hampton’s art is inspired by her family and her research on the roots of weaving, as well as the role African American women played in the art, she said. She did field work visiting plantations and other historical sites.

“I felt the land, and the land spoke to me,” Hampton said. “I realized that I was a translator for these women.” 

Camille Thompson, another Black contemporary weaving artist highlighted at the event, also hoped children realized how fun weaving is and understand being an artist can look differently from person to person, she said.

Thompson’s art explores Black futures — futures in which ecological bodies of land and water are merged with Black and brown human bodies to uplift and conjure protection, comfort and to cultivate community through hope and celebration, she said. 

If weaving isn’t passed on and advanced forward the art ceases to exist, which breaks her heart, Thompson said. 

Thompson encourages children to be bold and unafraid to dream, to laugh and cry often and to learn from every experience and every person around them, she said. 

A calendar of the remaining events for February at the CMoR can be found on its website.