Award covers quilt artist Tina Williams Brewer distinguished career

By Mary Thomas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tina Williams Brewer's story quilt "The Fire of Life."
What makes someone worthy of a lifetime achievement award?

If that someone is artist Tina Williams Brewer, it includes the refinement of artistic expression to a level that has earned international attention, an in-depth exploration of heritage that has been shared and memorialized, the generous mentoring of aspiring artists, the patient teaching of scores of children and adults in school and residency programs, active membership in a number of arts guilds and organizations, and community volunteer work.

The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts noted Brewer's remarkable contributions to the region's cultural richness and on June 12 honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award, only the second ever granted. In a ceremony that included reading a proclamation from Pittsburgh City Council declaring June 12, 2009, Tina Williams Brewer Day, the artist was feted by friends and admirers.

A book, "Tina Williams Brewer: Guided by the Ancestors," shares its title with a recent PCA exhibition and makes a sorely needed contribution to the documentation of our region's artists ($25, at the PCA).

Brewer is of African-American heritage and weaves into the layered and embellished fabrics of her exquisite story quilts symbols that reference the African Diaspora brought about by slavery, African-American contributions such as jazz, and the joy that comes of deeply felt spirituality. A reverence for the contributions of those who have gone before permeates her complex, engaging work...

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