DepartmentTextiles-United States & Canada

Harriet Tubman Conductor Mask

NameMask

Maker Denise A. Harrison (American)

CultureAmerican

Date2020

Place madeAkron, OHIO, United States, North America

MediumCotton, paper currency, netting, elastic

DimensionsNot Including Strap: 10 5/8 × 7 1/16 in. (27 × 18 cm)

Credit LineMuseum of International Folk Art, IFAF collection, FA.2020.55.1

Object numberFA.2020.55.1

ProvenancePurchased from the artist

DescriptionThe mask, in the colors of the Pan-African/Black Liberation flag, has a portrait of Harriet Tubman at the center with quotes and an article above, below and to the right. A copy of a 1913 Glover Cleveland $20 bill is on the left, with a contemporary $20 bill attached over the top, folded as a flowering heart.

Professor Denise A. Harrison, a professor at Kent State University, made this mask as her entry for the “Unmask Your Creativity” Contest held by Women of Color Quilters Network (WCQN), of which she is a member. Prof. Harrison, in addition to being a teacher, is also a textile artist, quilter, social activist, and costume designer. The mask, in the colors of the Pan-African/Black Liberation flag, has a portrait of Harriet Tubman at the center with quotes and an article above, below and to the right. A copy of a 1913 Glover Cleveland $20 bill is on the left, with a contemporary $20 bill attached over the top, folded as a flowering heart (CHertz).