Tiavalya Befecadu: A Madison Textile Artist Illustrates Alabama History by Quilting.

This article focuses on Tiavalya Befecadu, a textile artist from Madison, Alabama, who uses quilting to vividly illustrate Alabama history and notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Helen Keller, and Zora Neale Hurston. Beginning quilting during the COVID-19 pandemic, Befecadu draws on her background in photography and family quilting traditions, including inspiration from the Gee’s Bend quilters, to create colorful, symbolic quilts that often omit facial details to emphasize action or identity. One of her quilts highlights the 1917 Alabama Orphan Home School band, sparking interest in uncovering the orphanage’s history. Befecadu also teaches quilting, encouraging community engagement and the use of local resources like library makerspaces, reflecting a growing intersection of historical storytelling and textile art in her commissioned work. [Extracted from the article]