Meet Aisha Lumumba | Fiber Artist and Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aisha Lumumba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aisha, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am from McDonough, Georgia. It was a small rural town as I was growing up. I remember hearing it referred to as a town with only two traffic lights. My young days were filled with carefree play and outdoor fun with my sister. I think those early days helped me develop a self-reliance and independence.

I found an interest in sewing while learning to make doll clothes. My Aunt Marie, who lived in Atlanta, saw that interest and took me under her wing. She was a seamstress by trade and taught me so much about it. As I watched her work, I had no idea that I would one day emulate her. In my young mind sewing was just one more thing to learn in my arsenal of skills. My junior high school home economics teacher took notice of my sewing skills and gave me extra training after school.

Growing up in a home filled with books made me think that reading was the norm. I didn’t realize until much later in life that it was not the norm in all homes, nor did everyone excel at it. I watched my sisters read and discuss books that they were reading. Reading and writing became an integral part of my life. So many life experiences from those times have given me a plethora of skills but I have chosen sewing and writing as my focus.

Growing up in a small-town and a large family gave me the opportunity to be a free spirit. I think it is because of that free spirit that I love people, I love meeting new people, I love creating images that engage people, and I love exploring how we as humans interact with each other.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was not introduced to art as a profession until much later in my life. I liked drawing as a child like most children do. Drawing was not a job that an African American child could aspire to and achieve success, so I was directed to more conventional pursuits. All the while sewing was in the background. I started making my own clothes in high school and eventually making clothes for other people. I taught must of my friends around me to sew.

My high school counselor suggested that I go to college and focus on something that I could get a job doing. She discouraged me from thinking I could pursue art. I set my sites on going to school to be an Interior Designer. I went to Georgia State University and was promptly told that they did not teach Interior Design-that is something that you study at a trade school. They explained to me with an air of superiority. “What you want to study is Art”, she said. So, I enrolled in Art classes with no prior preparation. By the end of my first year the counselor was telling me that I should change my major because you don’t make “C”s in your major. So I changed my major to Journalism with a minor in Political Science.

The tide was turning for me. Political Science as well as meeting my husband and being introduced to Black Studies made me look for a way to express myself. That is what eventually led me on the journey to create art that represents African American people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My husband and I are not very entertaining. When our friends come to visit us, they are usually coming here for a specific event. We are the home that you can hang out in and enjoy yourself. So, we may take our friends to Soul Vegetarian Restaurant and Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant to eat. For the most part, I am a great cook, so our friends come here to eat my food. We would take them to the African American Museum, Hammonds House Art Gallery, Art Exhibit, Quilt Show or Play.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Wow! So many people have contributed to my success that I don’t know where to start. I think of my biological family first. The training from my aunt, the encouragement from all my aunts, my father who bought my first sewing machine, my sisters who shared their love of reading with me, my brothers for being the support I needed at all stages of my life, and now my husband and children who help make my business a success with all their skills.

My community which includes at least hundreds of friends all over the United States and a few in other countries. They are sewing friends, writing friends, classmates, friends from groups and just people I have met in my travels and kept close in my life.

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Image Credits
Jabari Lumumba Sharifa Lumumba Jamal Pope