Threads of a Living Legacy: The Art of Marquetta Bell-Johnson | Closing Reception & Gallery Conversation

The ArtsXchange honors the life and work of Atlanta artist and educator Marquetta Johnson (1956-2025) with Threads of a Living Legacy: The Art of Marquetta Bell-Johnson in the Jack Sinclair Gallery. The closing reception will be from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct 24, 2026. We will be featuring a gallery conversation with fiber artist and founder of the Atlanta Quilt Festival O.V. Brantley, master quilt artist and author Aisha Lumumba, public artist and teaching artist Jeff Mather, and Jack Sinclair Gallery Director Ric Washington.

The tribute exhibition brings together quilts and textile works spanning Johnson’s career, offering an intimate look at an artist whose practice grew from family tradition into a distinctive language of color, texture, pattern, and layered materials.

A vital force in Atlanta’s arts ecosystem, Johnson’s reach extended from the Neighborhood Arts Center to the High Museum of Art — where her work lives in the permanent collection — as well as the Alliance Theatre, Kennedy Center/VSA Arts, and the National AIDS Memorial Quilt. After surviving a shooting that left her paralyzed from the waist down, Johnson remained fiercely dedicated to youth arts education, community collaboration, and adaptive art-making. Johnson also worked closely with the ArtsXchange over the years, from teaching youth arts classes to being one of the five women featured in Cover Me, a stunning 2024 exhibition of quilters and textile artists. The exhibition extends outside of the galley to include Intersectionality, an illuminated wall sculpture Johnson co-created at ArtsXchange with artist Jeff Mather; a “touch gallery” for a sensory experience; and a video montage of archived reflections from collaborators, family, and peers.

Thank you to all the community members, family, friends, and loved ones who came to acknowledge and pay tribute to Marquetta via this exhibition. And thank you to Marquetta for being the person you are. The tremendous craft and dedication you brought to everyone who knew you is seen and felt well beyond your lifetime. ❤︎