Today we’d like to introduce you to Torreah “cookie” Washington
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Cookie Washington 2025 Bio
I am an artist, curator and folklorist who’s led a sold-out art quilting presentation at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2023 and 2024. I will be returning to teach there again during International Quilt Month March 2025.
In addition to my ongoing studio art practice, I’ve curated & produced exhibitions. In 2001 I saw a need to create spaces and opportunities for black textile artists to exhibit and grow.
Since then, I’ve judged, organized and curated numerous exhibitions that have traveled to museums and galleries around America. My themed exhibits have included,
celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation,
Zora Neale Hurston,
Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore, and a deeply personal tribute exhibition
honoring the victims of the terrorist attack on the pastors and congregants of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and a follow on exhibit a year later titled:
A Dialogue in Black and White.
For the last 18 years, I have been the curator of the annual African American Fiber Art Exhibition, partnering with the North Charleston Cultural Arts department.
The exhibit has traveled through the South Carolina State Museum’s Traveling Exhibition Program and is wildly popular.
My art quilts have been featured in Quiltfolk Magazine Issue #14, in three documentary films about African American Art Quilters. “The Wayshowers”, which I shared executive producer credit on, with Susan Scott Hester, and the film “Skin Quilt” by Lauren Cross, as well as the 2020’s “Gratitude”, a short film by Gavin Shelon, and I am becoming a frequent podcast guest.
My quilts are vibrant story quilts she weaves to share the history of her people.
In June, 2023 I taught a class for beginning quilters exploring the use of African Fabrics at Kindred Spirits: a Convergence of African-American Quilters in Durham, NC. I teach classes to novice quilters, in hopes of keeping the craft growing.
Because of my significant influence on arts and culture in the Carolinas, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture invited her to Black Carolina, a retreat designed for creatives, happening from Friday, July 14, to Sunday, July 16, 2023 in Asheville, NC. I was then named in the first cohort of Artists in Residence at the Harvey B. Gannt Center for African American Arts + Culture for their 50th anniversary year in 2024.
I was also named in the first group of 3 Culture and Heritage Keeper Artists at the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC in June of 2024.
In Nov of 2024 I curated and participated in an Afro Futurism Exhibit at REDUX Galley in Charleston, SC.
My work is rooted in promoting creative sustainability and cultural heritage. In 2023, I joined the inaugural artist residency cohort at the Harvey Gantt Center and was honored as a Keeper of the Culture for the Gullah people by the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC.
My current focus is on reducing environmental waste by teaching traditional textile techniques such as Gullah rag quilting, hand coiling and rag crochet, all using reclaimed textiles.
The Gullah tradition of rag quilting is deeply rooted in African-American history, representing resilience, resourcefulness, and storytelling. In 2025, I envision this technique to serve as a cultural anchor, connecting future generations to their ancestors and preserving the legacy of using scraps to create something meaningful and beautiful. By continuing this practice, we acknowledge the ingenuity and creativity of the Gullah people, ensuring their contributions remain vibrant and relevant.
In the next 5 years I am launching “The 112 Pound Challenge,” teaching 112 craftspeople to recycle 112 pounds of textiles into sustainable heirlooms like rag rugs. These techniques not only reduce landfill waste but also preserve culturally significant crafts for future generations, ensuring that creativity and environmental responsibility go hand in hand.
Selected Achievements
• Selected as one of 44 international Master Quilters for “Quilts for Obama” (2009).
• First Black artist to exhibit at the Aiken Rhett Museum, Charleston, SC (2022).
• Founder of the Passages Artists Collective, producing Holy City: Art of Love, Unity & Resurrection, an exhibition inspired by the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting.
• Curator of Celebrating Black Mermaids: From Africa to America (2023), featuring over 70 artists.
• Commissioned by the Charleston Museum in 2024 to create a memorial quilt to honor the victims and survivors of the Mother Emanual AME Church terrorist attack in 2015.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been smooth. When I first started my Wedding Gown design business I was from time to time met with racism.
However as word of my reputation grew it became easier.
I was a stay at home mom as well as a community activist and board member of my church.
I took up art quilting on 1999 after seeing the exhibition, Communion of the Spirits at the Gibbes Museum. I had been given the book and the exhibit was the most exciting visual art I had ever seen. I jumped in with both feet.
I soon realized that there was very little welcome or interest in including African American quilters in the local quilt guilds, so I determined to find a way to showcase Quilters of Color and a second, adjacent career was born.
In 2014 my oldest daughter suffered a brain injury as a result of a botched surgery. I became her full time care giver and remain so until today. My Mother moved in with us the same year and soon she was no longer ambulatory and had several health conditions. My younger and only brother moved in with me in 2016, he was unmarried and had a stroke, so he could no longer work. I was caring for 3 medically fragile adults as well as trying to keep my art career afloat.
Sadly in October of 2022 my Mother passed away. My Brother who had contracted cancer, had to have his leg amputated at the hip, to hopefully remove a cancer. It did not work, and 90 days after I lost my
mother, my younger brother passed as well.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most proud of persevering and thriving in the face of some really challenging obstacles.
I am a textile artist that specializes in art quilting, soft sculpture dolls and 3 types of rag textile work. I am vitally concerned about the state of our environment and the huge amount of textile waste that goes into landfills every year. (About 112 pounds for each and every American!
What sets me apart from other artists in my gift and joy in helping other artists. I am most proud of all the African American fiber arts exhibits I have curated and introduced many new artists to the public.
What does success mean to you?
I define success as the ability to build a life and career that will make a difference in some way and at the end of my life I will feel I accomplished something. I am happy and satisfied at this stage in my life. I continue to keep striving. And I am so grateful..
Pricing:
- art quilts range from $1500 to $6500
- Classes i teach are $750 per day and up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cookiesewsquilts.com
- Instagram: @cookiesews
- Facebook: cookie washington
