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

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a Quilter by trade. When I was growing up watching “older” people make quilts, I never thought I would be one of them. There was nothing about the process that excited me and at that time I had to be excited in order to give something my attention. Little did I know that one day I would not only quilt but would embrace it and absolutely fall in love with it. I set out to be an artist but that didn’t work out mostly because I did not have a clear vision of what that meant to me. An artist has to have a point of focus- a North Star so to speak. I didn’t have that as a young person but as time flew by and life happened to me, I found my way to the Art of Quilting.
Now I focus on quilts that tell a story either a pictorial story or a story that is invoked by color combinations and shapes. I want African American people to find value in what we have accomplished in the world by seeing our history come to life in my art. And most importantly, I want us to see ourselves projected on the “positive” big screen of the world just as other groups of people have been.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting me, the first place I would share with them would be my art studio. I love to share my process and what I am dreaming up at the moment. From there we would visit some type of art exhibit that was happening at the time. We would try many of the vegetarian spots such as Slutty Vegan, Soul Vegetarian, Wadada, and Tasilli, but mostly I would be cooking for them. We would go to an exhibit at the Arts Exchange, an Art Exhibit at the Hammonds House and the Black Art In America Art Gallery.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to Shoutout to all those courageous African American people that stepped out of the accepted “norm” and made a statement about “US” being worthy, valuable and special in the world. It is impossible to tell you the magnitude of pride I had when I read books by or about Zora Neal Hurtston, Dick Gregory, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and so many others. These books or stories were seldom a part of my formal education but found their way to me none the less. I could go on and on. Now I let those influences and themes guide my ideas of what to create,

Website: www.obaquilts.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/obaquilts/

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/aisha-lumumba-61bb58a/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/alumumba1

Youtube: www.youtube.com/@obaquilts

Image Credits
Jabari Lumumba Photography Greenlight Design Studios

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