How Diedrick Brackens Weaves West African, European & Southern Textile Art Together

craftinamerica.org. Weaver Diedrick Brackens is best known for his woven tapestries that explore themes of African American and queer identity, American history, as well as his own lived experience. Brackens makes work that is both figurative and abstract, narrative and allegorical, utilizing techniques from West African weaving, quilting from the American South, and European tapestry-making. He uses both commercial and natural dyes, including wine and tea, and begins his process by hand-dyeing cotton – a fabric he uses in acknowledgement of its brutal history and complicated ties to labor, migration, and African American identity. Influenced by African and African American literature, poetry, and folklore, Brackens imbues his weavings with a fantastical spirit, while poignantly bridging past and present.

INSPIRATION reveals the magic and influence of craft. Featuring the Saar family (Betye Saar, Alison Saar, and Maddy Leeser), Simon Rodia and Watts Towers, Diedrick Brackens, Ayumi Horie, Suzanne Thao, Mandora Young, Tousue Vang, Chef Yia Vang, and Mary Little.

Now streaming on the PBS Video App, craftinamerica.org, and pbs.org/craftinamerica
PBS broadcast premiere December 16, 2022.

For more info about Craft in America, visit www.craftinamerica.org.
All Craft in America programs are viewable on craftinamerica.org, the PBS iPhone/iPad app, and pbs.org/craft-in-america