Courtesy Live Coal Gallery
Artist: April Anue Shipp
Title: Mahalia Jackson
Quilt
29" x 20"
Location: 3rd Fl.
Artist: April Anue Shipp
Title: Mahalia Jackson
Quilt
29" x 20"
Location: 3rd Fl.
"Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, possessing a powerful contralto voice. Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as "the single most powerful Black woman in the United States." During her career, she recorded about 30 albums, mostly for Columbia Records, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "gold" records, which sold a million copies. Jackson once said about her choice of gospel, "I sing God's music because it makes me feel free," adding, "It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues."
April ‘Anue’ Shipp is a fiber artist and autodidactic figurative sculptor, centering her practice on designing quilt patterns and creating soft sculpture dolls. She is self-taught with over 30 years of quilt-making experience, teaching workshops in and around the city of Detroit. Anue's works have been exhibited in galleries, at museums, colleges, and universities in Detroit, throughout the United States, in the U.K., and in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibition catalogs, newspaper and magazine articles. Anue currently teaches the Art of Quilt Making at Wayne County Community College School of Continuing Education, Detroit campus, as well as at Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
ABOUT LIVE COAL GALLERY
Live Coal Gallery, L.L.C. was formed in 2012 by Detroit artist, Yvette Rock. It is a social venture with a mission to transform lives and neighborhoods through art, community development, and education. Its four main initiatives include: The Live Coal Arts Mobile - a traveling mobile that doubles as a gallery, workshop, and interactive play space; the Live Coal Collective - an annually selected group of artists who collaborate with us; The RED - our children’s art museum; and, Detroit rePatched - an arts-infused green space and art hub in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood). Live Coal was a Knight Arts Challenge Detroit winner in 2017 and 2019.