Carolyn L. Mazloomi is an artist, author, historian, and curator acknowledged as being among the most influential African American quilt historians in the United States. She has produced an awe inspiring body of work, much of it containing references to African American life and history, as well as harkening back to a shared African ancestry. Widely exhibited in the United States and internationally, her quilts have been included in five exhibitions at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery. Her artwork can be found in numerous important museums and corporate collections, such as the Wadsworth Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, American Museum of Design, Bell Telephone, the Cleveland Clinic, and Exxon. She has appeared on television shows such as CBS Morning Show, Reading Rainbow, The Today Show, CNN, and has been the subject of several film documentaries. Dr. Mazloomi is one of six artist commissioned to create artwork for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Museum.
In 1985 she founded the Women of Color Quilters Network, an international organization with a membership of 1700, which has been a major force in fostering the fiberart works of African American people. Through Dr. Mazloomi’s effort WCQN members have had their quilts presented in venues such as prominent museums and galleries, and in internationally traveled exhibitions. She is a frequent consultant for art exhibitions, authors, and historians.
Beijing, China was the setting for an international quilt exhibition curated by Dr. Mazloomi as part of the United Nations Conference for Women held in 1995. This exhibition resulted in the publication of the book Star Quilts (Streelekha Press, Bangalore, India) which she co-edited. She is also author of the book Spirits of the Cloth (Random House) given the “Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year” award by the American Library Association. Her book, Threads of Faith, was published in 2004 by the Museum of Biblical Art. An exhibition, based on the book, toured the United States for two years. Her most recent publications include, Textural Rhythms: Quilting the Jazz Tradition (2007) and Quilting African American Women’s History Our Challenges, Creativity and Champions (2008),The Journey of Hope in America: Quilts Celebrating President Barack Obama (2009) and Quilting a Culture: African American Quilters of Ohio (2011).