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[CITY, STATE] – [DATE] – [GALLERY NAME] presents "Southern White Amnesia," a powerful textile exhibition by artist Zak Foster that examines how white American families pass down—or deliberately forget—stories about their role in slavery and its ongoing legacy. The exhibition runs from [OPENING DATE] through [CLOSING DATE], with an opening reception on [DATE] from [TIME].
When Foster told a family member about discovering records showing their ancestors had enslaved people, the immediate response was "no"—followed by insistence that they would "surely know" if this were true. That moment of family denial launched this entire collection, which spans three states and generations of inherited silence.
A Journey Through Denial and Discovery
Foster's work moves from confronting hard evidence in old estate documents and Civil War letters to attempting communication with ancestors through imagined conversations, dream work, and AI-animated family photographs. The exhibition includes hand-sewn dolls representing slave-owning ancestors piled awkwardly into an antique doll bed, embroidered questions to ancestors placed under pillows for dream responses, and a genealogical quilt tracing how enslaved-generated wealth flows through generations to benefit the artist today.
"These pieces emerge from a belief that our ancestors might still have work to do—and that we might be the ones meant to help them do it," Foster explains. "Like other artists examining inherited trauma, these works suggest that the past isn't finished with us yet."
Traditional Techniques Meet Contemporary Accountability
Foster employs traditional textile techniques, repurposed church banners from his Southern Baptist childhood, and found textiles to explore how white families maintain silence while continuing to benefit from historical wealth. One piece, "Snake Handler!," recreates the visual language of church banners to deliver a message about inherited injustice that came to the artist through a dream.
The exhibition includes 209 Civil War letters from Foster's family that never once mention slavery or Black people despite the writers' Confederate service, alongside contemporary responses imagining what honest ancestral accountability might sound like today.
From Revelation to Repair
Rather than ending with historical revelation, the work culminates in active repair—both the literal mending of a found quilt and ongoing spiritual work of ancestral accountability. This connects to broader conversations about reparations by asking not just "what did our families do?" but "what do the ancestors need from us now?"
Foster commits 100% of proceeds from sales to scholarships through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, providing opportunities at historically Black colleges and universities—making the repair work concrete and immediate.
About the Artist
Zak Foster is a community-taught artist whose work draws on Southern textile traditions and repurposed fabrics. He practices an approach to design based in narrative and guided by intuition, with a particular focus on preserving the stories of quilts and exploring the stories we tell ourselves about the past, present, and future. His work has been featured on the red carpet of the Met Gala, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in various magazines, websites, and galleries. Foster is the author of "The World Needs Your Next Quilt" and hosts the Quilty Nook, a community that connects and inspires quilters and makers worldwide. Through "Southern White Amnesia," he combines his expertise in textile storytelling with contemporary approaches to historical accountability and ancestral healing.
Exhibition Information