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Collection

1990

"Tar Beach 2" Quilt

Faith Ringgold

American, 1930 - 2024

Ringgold’s Tar Beach 2 quilt communicates the dreams and hopes of a young African American girl, Cassie Louise Lightfoot. Her story is based on the artist’s own memories of growing up in Harlem, New York, but is enlivened with fantasy. Flying among the stars on a hot summer night, Cassie becomes a heroic explorer overcoming obstacles. Ringgold’s combination of image and imagination, text and texture puts a unique, contemporary spin on the traditions of both quilting and storytelling.

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Resources

Tar Beach 2

Faith Ringgold, who created this “story quilt,” is both an artist and author. This quilt tells the story of Cassie Louise Lightfoot, the protagonist in Ringgold’s children’s book, Tar Beach.
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Art Speaks Teacher Resources

Use educational resources to prepare your students for Art Speaks, a museum visit program for 4th-grade students in Philadelphia public schools.
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Art Speaks Image Cards

Use these image cards to prepare your students for Art Speaks, a museum visit program for 4th-grade students in Philadelphia public schools
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Gee’s bend: the architecture of the quilt and african american quiltmaking traditions.

This resource guide was developed to complement the exhibition Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt (September 16–December 14, 2008) and provides information about ten quilts created by African American women who worked throughout the twentieth century.
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Looking to Write, Writing to Look

Looking to Write, Writing to Look brings together twenty-five remarkable works of art from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collections and uses them as inspiration for an array of writing activities for K–12 students.
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Represent: 200 Years of African American Art

Represent: 200 Years of African American Art and this accompanying teacher resource celebrate the innovation, creativity, and determination of African American artists.
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Faith Ringgold, "Tar Beach 2" Quilt, 1990 | Philadelphia Art Museum