Artist-in-Residence Torreah “Cookie” Washington leads community quilting workshop in partnership with The Guardian’s Legacies of Enslavement program
The National Park Service awarded Penn one of 54 grants for African American Civil Rights Preservation and History.
Culture and Community’s Charlotte Forton Community Fellow, Chef Bernard Bennett, will bring his culinary artistry to the Historic Penn Center’s 2026 Heritage Days Symposium
The exhibition runs October 14-27, with a free, public reception on Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 4-5 p.m. A second exhibition of Washington’s work is on display at the Willson Center, also through October 27.
The Sam Doyle Artist-in-Residence, Torreah “Cookie” Washington, hosted the event, which invited participants to visit her studio, gain insight into her creative processes, and explore the craft of Gullah Rag Quilting.
Master quilter Torreah “Cookie” Washington and James Beard Award semifinalist chef Bernard Bennett will engage with Sea Islands communities and visiting learners through programs supported by the Culture and Community project
A new $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation will continue its support of the Culture and Community project
Culture and Community will co-sponsor a symposium on Gullah/Geechee lineage and legacy, as well as coordinate and support a delegation of students attending the festival from Claflin University, College of Charleston, and Georgia Tech.
The Grammy-nominated tenor will also engage in a public conversation as part of the University of Georgia’s 2025 Spotlight on the Arts festival. The November 12 event is free and open to all.
The Culture and Community partnership invites submissions for an artist residency program to take place during 2026 on the theme of Commemoration. Proposals must be in media that relates to, and be in conversation with, the artistic, cultural, and historic legacies of Penn Center and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor more broadly.
