Ever since her childhood summers sewing patterns at the family dining table, Felecia Davis has understood the power of textiles to be a vehicle for communication, connection, and understanding. As her career in architecture unfolded in parallel with wider advances in computational capabilities.
IMAGE: Felecia Davis
In order to demonstrate her research, Davis created a quilt to connect with residents of the Hill District in Pittsburgh. Each panel on the quilt reflects a different image of importance in the history of the Hill District, which is a grouping of historically African American neighborhoods in the city. When the copper fabric on the quilt is touched, sensors activate the narration of the panel story which plays through a small speaker that is incorporated at the bottom of the quilt. District residents will be able to add their own panels and stories to the quilt over time. The quilt is part of a duo transmitting/receiving textile installation that will be shown in the MoMA gallery.