Lounge Gallery
April 3, 2025 - May, 2025
Go’n by the House: Solidarities of Black Southern and Appalachian Women through Material Culture sought to illuminate the shared histories and cultural practices of Black Southern and Appalachian women and highlighted the pivotal role material culture has played in shaping their identities, resistances, and solidarities. This exhibition centered everyday objects—ceramics, textiles, and household items—as a lens to explore how these women have navigated both personal and collective struggles for survival.
Through carefully selected objects, we examined the connections between Black Southern and Appalachian women to reveal how their crafting practices—whether in the form of quilts, pottery, or homegrown remedies—have been vital tools for cultural preservation and solidarity. The objects also illustrate how, despite the differences in their regional and cultural backgrounds, the lives and labor of these women were intertwined. The exhibition was organized around three domestic spaces: the Common Room, which reflects the social and public-facing life of the women; the Private Room, an intimate setting for self-care and personal reflection; and the Kitchen, where labor, culinary tradition, and community-building are explored.
Funded by a Mellon Building Southern Intersectional Futures Grant from the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies and further supported by the Department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Interiors at the University of Georgia, Go’n by the House included objects created by and from the personal collection of ceramicist Julie Pihera, items from the personal collections of Cammie Hedley and Sha’Mira Covington, and pieces on loan from the University of Georgia Anne Barge Historic Clothing and Textile Collection.
In this lounge exhibition space, viewers were invited to engage with these artifacts in a relaxed, contemplative environment. We encouraged reflection on the ways material culture has connected women across time and space. While not an exhaustive or comprehensive representation of Black Southern or Appalachian women, Go’n by the House uses the tactile, visual, and sensory experience of the selected objects to highlight the significance of everyday objects in the creation of shared histories, as well as the role women have played in maintaining cultural ties and resisting oppressive forces through craft and solidarity.
This exhibition is guest-curated by Dr. Sha'Mira Covington and Julie Pihera.
The opening reception for this exhibition was Thursday, April 3, 2025 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM.
