Community in Conversation: Carrying African American Basket Traditions

Telfair Museums hosts Community in Conversation: Carrying African American Basket Traditions from November 5 through 7, 2026, at the Jepson Center and Telfair Academy. The program connects with Roots in the Rushes: African American Basketry of the Lowcountry, on view at Telfair Academy, and explores the history, techniques, materials and continuing cultural significance of basket making.

Thursday, November 5, at 6 p.m.: Woven Rhythms: Movement, Memory and Community takes place at Telfair Academy, 121 Barnard Street. Sauda Jackson leads an interactive dance and movement workshop drawing on African Diaspora movement and rhythm. All levels are welcome, and no dance experience is required.

Friday, November 6, at 6 p.m.: Scholar Dale Rosengarten and basket maker Nakia Wigfall speak in the Jepson Center Auditorium, 207 West York Street. Rosengarten presents Bulrush Is Silver, Sweetgrass Is Gold: The Enduring Art of the Lowcountry Basket, and Wigfall discusses her work and shares examples in progress.

Saturday, November 7, begins at the Jepson Center:

• 10 a.m.: Welcome and opening remarks.
• 10:15 a.m.: Threads of History, Memory and Tradition, moderated by Joyce White with Emory Campbell and Nakia Wigfall.
• 11:15 a.m.: From Grass to Basket: Methods and Materials, moderated by Dale Rosengarten with Greg Grant, Christa Hayes and Jery Taylor.
• Noon to 1:30 p.m.: Basket workshop with Yvonne Grovner in the Jepson Center Art Studio. This workshop is listed as sold out.
• 1 p.m.: Carrying the Legacy Forward, moderated by Gail Smith with Carolyn Grant, Anastasia Ketchen and Mya Timmons.
• 1:45 p.m.: Closing remarks at the Jepson Center.

The Saturday program continues at Telfair Academy with book signings and meet and greets from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Rotunda Gallery, a basket workshop with Jennifaye Singleton from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the Sculpture Gallery, and a curator led tour of Roots in the Rushes at 2:30 p.m. The organizer currently lists both basket workshops as sold out. The event concludes at 4 p.m.

The general program is free and open to the public, with seating available in order of arrival. Space is limited, and advance registration is recommended. Some individual events may carry a fee. Check the official registration page for current availability.