The AC Phoenix
January 2004
Page 11
Old Salem Inc. Presents “The Charms which Ne er Decay”:
Historical Sonthern Needlework and Decorative Arts
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), a division of
Old Salem Inc., will present a seminar entitled “The charms which ne'er
decay”: Historical Southern Needlework and Decorative Arts on January
22 - 24, 2004.
Southern women - adult and child; English, European, and African -
have been practicing the textile arts since their foremothers landed in
British North America. Surviving examples of embroidery from the 18th and
early 19th centuries illustrate the latest in English decorative fashion, the
influence of designs from northern European settlers, and changes in the
popularity of needlework techniques. The textiles they fashioned into cloth
ing and used to furnish their households reflect the wide variety of linen,
woolen, cotton, and silk fabrics imported from England, Europe, India, and
China. This selection was intended to appeal to every pocket and meet
every need.
"The charms which ne'er decay," MESDA's three-day seminar, is a
literal introduction to the "fabric" of the South, an exploration of the historic
embroideries and textiles made and used in such diverse areas as the
Chesapeake; the backcountry of Virginia, the Carolines, Tennessee, and
Kentucky; and cosmopolitan Charleston, South Carolina.
Participants will have the opportunity to study the textile collections of
MESDA and Old Salem, as well as learn the basics of research in the
decorative arts and the use of primary materials. Workshops, lectures and
collection studies will concentrate mainly on the museum's textile
collections, but will also offer the opportunity for participants to put these
objects in the context of the full range of southern material culture.
Textile historian and author Kathleen Staples will be the major clinician
for the seminar. Tours, lectures and workshops will also be lead by mem
bers of the museum staff including Paula Locklair, Old Salem vice presi
dent for MESDA and the Horton Center Museums.
MESDA's premier collections of decorative arts of the early South
include furniture, textiles, paintings, ceramics and metalwares made by
artisans and artists working in the South before 1850. The museum also
houses the premiere research center for the study of southern decorative
arts with
extensive photograph and archival records as well as a large library.
Old Salem is the authentic restoration, begun in 1950, of the Moravian
community of Salem, founded in the North Carolina Piedmont in 1766. The
restoration's museum buildings display the lives and work of men and
women that lived and worked in the community in the 18th and 19th
centuries. Old Salem is also the home of the Old Salem Toy Museum, an
extraordinary collection of toys, dollhouses, miniatures and games ranging
from the first century to the 1920s.
Registration in the seminar is limited, and the registration fee of $350.00
includes all seminar sessions and materials, admission to all of the Old
Salem museums, an opening reception, three lunches and a closing
dinner.
^ To receive more details,^registration, information, and lodging recom-
■''niefldations?’Bafl»W08l)!A at 89&-7£1-7-36O,-oremail-ikioas@oi€lsa1em:04-
Qty To Use Grants To Extend Activities
Promoting Equality
The Winston-Salem Human Relations Department is combining separate
federal and state grants with city funds to stage activities promoting peace
and equality throughout the year.
In the past such programs have usually been associated with the
celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, said Wanda Allen-Abraha, the
director of the city’s Human Relations Department. “We wanted additional
funds to extend what we were already doing,” Allen-Abraha said.
The city has received $1,564 from the Corporation for National and
Community Service, and $1,000 from the N.C. Martin Luther King Jr.
Commission, to complement the $5,000 the department budgets for
activities related to Martin Luther King Day, Race Equality Week and Black
History Month.
The terms of the grants are a good match with the department’s goals,
Allen-Abraha said. “We’re mandated to thread in Dr. King’s philosophies to
promote equality and peace, to make sure it’s in the forethought of
everyone’s minds year-round, but do that in the name of Dr. King.”
The city will use the combined money to fund the annual King Day
observance, a Civil Rights Consortium, programming for Race Equality
Week, the Black History Month Program and a Community Service
Partnership program.
“We’re hoping to partner with other agencies in the community that have
similar goals and that work for equality for everyone,” Allen-Abraha said.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is part of USA
Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a culture of citizenship,
service and responsibility. The N.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission is
part of the N.C. Human Relations Commission.
■ ■ T-CAL J
Dr. Linda
Bowman-Hopson
T-CAL 723-3100
^ /iilsiate i
lixAie in good iiaiid$.
GEAAUD SCOTT
Sr. AccL Agent
Allstate Insurance ,4^
Company
897 Peterscreek Pkwy., Ste. 102 >44^
Winston-Salem, NC 27103
Bus (336) 722-3560 >44^
Res (336) 922-2981