PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Harriet Tubman's life is being viewed through the work of artists both in our area and nationwide, thanks to a traveling exhibit honoring Tubman's legacy, currently in Bucks County.
"Harriet Tubman has always meant a lot to us and we find ways to honor her with our art," said Casandra Stancil Gunkel, of the Sankofa Artisans Guild. She and fellow guild member Gloria Davis played a leading role in honoring Tubman with "Dreams of Freedom: The Threads That Hold Us Together," an art exhibit traveling through our region.
The exhibit began in Center City at City Hall, then made a stop at the Johnson house in Germantown. Now it sits on display at Pennsbury Manor in Bucks County.
"We knew quilters and other makers around Philadelphia," Gunkel told KYW Newsradio, "and then members of Sankofa reached out and made this a national call."
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Tubman made Philadelphia her home and avenue to freedom during the 19th century, crossing runaway slaves to safety. To assemble the tribute, Sankofa reached up and down the East Coast and even across the country, asking artists to contribute their work.
"We ended up getting pieces from California, Rhode Island, New Jersey and as far south as Florida," said Gunkel. "30 artists, 40 pieces who contributed to this exhibit."
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The artists said the 5-foot-tall Tubman was not your ordinary hero. She risked her life to save lives at any cost.
"This exhibit honors a troublemaker, a lawbreaker," Gunkel said. "She had wanted posters after her. However, she was doing what was morally right for her community."
That, they said, is what made her extraordinary. The exhibit is on display at Pennsbury Manor through the end of November.
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