Southern Lit 101 fiber art exhibitopens July 11 at the museum

Famous literary scenes as well as interesting geography are all a part of the Southern Lit 101 Exhibit opening at the Union County Heritage Museum on Thursday, July 11, 2024, 5:30 – 7. The artist will give a gallery talk at 6 p.m.

Fiber artist Cathy Fussell’s work will be on exhibit as part of New Albany’s Literary Festival that runs from July through September annually. The fest culminates at the September Literary Luncheon with the announcement of the winners of the William Faulkner Literary Competition.

This exhibit is reflective of many famous scenes in southern literature, said Jill Smith, Museum Director. If you’ve read William Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying”, you know who Addie Bundren is. One of Fussell’s pieces is titled “Addie Bundren in Her coffin”. Addie is the woman who, as she lay dying in her bed, listens to her son’s hammer building a coffin in the barn. She is one of Faulkner’s most famous characters who eventually is carried in her coffin through a flooded river, through a burning barn to be buried in Jefferson – per her dying wish.

If you are a reader of Flannery O’Connor, you will have the opportunity to see “The Misfit and His Cronies” from her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find”.

“That’s a short story that is pretty remarkable,” Smith said. “We explored that in a book club talk at the museum that introduced some of us to O’Connor’s work. If you have not read it, put it on your reading list and come visit the exhibit that will hang through September.”

A Cathy Fussell Landscape Quilt

Fussell collaborated with her husband Fred for the literary themed work. But others of her quilted pieces depict impressive southern landscapes, riverways and lakes. The Georgia native is an English teacher and former director for Carson McCuller’s Center for Writers and Musicians who retired from Columbus State University in 2011. Since that time, she has focused on fiber art. Her work is held in a number of public collections, including the Fulton County, GA, Public Arts Collection and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Koch Collection.

She was commissioned by the prestigious Congressional Club in Washington, D.C. to make a quilt for a US First Lady. Her work is exhibited in numerous juried and curated art exhibitions around the south and beyond and is held in many private art collections. Today she maintains a studio in Columbus, Georgia, where she specializes in making art quilts and related works in fabric.

“We are excited to exhibit the high quality of fiber art that Cathy Fussell creates with such great themes that connect with our literary festival,” Smith said. “She is one of the premier textile artists in the South. You don’t want to miss this exhibit.”

The museum is located at 114 Cleveland Street in New Albany. For more information call the museum at 662-538-0014 or email uchm@ucheritagemuseum.com. Follow the museum on social media to know about all events. This exhibit is made possible by the museum Community Partners and the Mississippi Arts Commission.

Jill Smith, Director
Union County Heritage Museum
114 Cleveland Street
New Albany,MS 38652