Threading His Grandmother’s Needles

THE KENTUCKY CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE PRESENTS

THREADING HIS GRANDMOTHER’S NEEDLES Hand Stitched Stories By Sunshine Joe Mallard SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 - DECEMBER 12, 2025

Support for this exhibit provided in part by: Brown-Forman Kentucky Arts Council Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Louisville Metro Government

Kentucky Center for African American Heritage 1701 W. Muhammad Ali Blvd.

Louisville, Kentucky 40203 (502) 583-4100 Mon-Fri: 10 am – 4 pm Artwork on Cover: The Other Side of the American Dream, Sunshine Joe Mallard

THE KENTUCKY CENTER FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE From the 1920s to the 1950s, Old Walnut Street in downtown Louisville was a hub for African American culture and business in the region. Black-owned businesses flourished, and the music venues and theatres attracted people of all cultures to the area. Urban renewal in the ‘50s ended much of this, but we haven’t forgotten our past. In 1994, the African American Heritage Foundation (AAHF) was established to primarily preserve African American sites, communities, and culture. This initiative started with the preservation of historic structures in the African American community of Louisville and the implementation of historic markers to recognize significant sites.

The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage represents the next step in the preservation process, with the additional aim of serving as a source of revitalization and education for the Kentucky African American community and beyond. Evolving from the Louisville and Jefferson County African American Heritage Committee, the Heritage Center is a space for African American spoken word, visual and performing artists, to collaborate and provide the rich heritage of African Americans with the voice and platform it deserves.

The Heritage Center’s campus is located on the historic Louisville Street Railway Complex, a central site in the fight for transportation equality in 1876. Since the renovation of the 55,000-square-foot campus, we’ve worked to raise public awareness about the history, heritage, and cultural contributions of African Americans in Kentucky and in the African Diaspora. The Heritage Center is also a vital, contemporary institution, providing space for exhibitions and performances of all types.

Located at 18th and Muhammad Ali Boulevard, the Heritage Center overlooks the area that was once Old Walnut Street. This area holds special significance for African American community in Kentuckiana.

Through the efforts of the Heritage Center, with help from the community, we aim to restore it as a place of cultural significance once more. The Kentucky Center for African American Heritage is dedicated solely to showcasing our community’s triumphs. Here, African American history has a platform to share its monumental achievements with the community where they occurred.

OUR MISSION KCAAH’s aims to enhance public knowledge about the history, heritage and cultural contributions of African Americans in Kentucky, and in the African Diaspora. In addition to its commitment to preserving past traditions and accomplishments, the Center serves as a vital, contemporary institution that provides space for exhibitions and performances of all types.

INDEX 1...................... About the Artist 2...................... About the Exhibition 3...................... A Mississippi Sunset, 1977 4...................... The Tree of Life, 1980 5...................... Wanna Moose Around?, 1980 6...................... Where Flamingos Fly, 1981 7.......................Creative Juices Flowing, 1983 8...................... African Mask, 1991 9.......................Serious Fun, 1998 10.................... The Other Side of the American Dream, 2012 11.................... Kind of Blue, 2014 12.................... The Creation Week, 2018 13.................... Spread Love, Defeat Hate, 2020 14.................... Redeemed, 2023 16.................... Let Freedom Ring, 2023 17.................... About the Curator

​

A BOU T T H E A R T I S T Born in Summit Mississippi, Joe Mallard learned needlecraft at the feet of his great-great-grandmother Mandy Green, a woman born into slavery in the Deep South. He fondly recalls threading her needles as her eyesight faded. Since childhood, he has honed his craft over a lifetime and is now recognized across the country for his vibrant Hand Stitched Stories.

Mallard has been inspired by many people, including Rosie Greer, the former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle who took up needlepoint as a hobby and stress reliever. A child of the “Hippie” generation in the sixties and seventies, Sunshine Joe, as he is often called, covered his clothing with artistic stitches and designs to show his free-spirited creativity. Joe’s beautiful tapestry quilts consist of thousands of tiny stitches and hand-tied knots. He started his first large piece the day his youngest son was born, a tapestry that chronicles the first-twenty-one years of his son’s life. These works show Mallard’s patience, perseverance, and dedication to his craft. The large format pieces Joe creates today usually take four to five years to complete.

Joe was given the nickname Sunshine Joe by a fifth-grade student who said, “the sunshine brings light, and you do too.” Joe enjoys teaching students of all ages the craft of quilting while talking about history and culture. He teaches in classrooms, community centers, homeless shelters, libraries, and universities.

In 2022, he was artist in residence with the Children’s Defense Fund’s national youth program at the Freedom School in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For more than 50 years, Mallard has documented world events through his vibrant, intricately detailed thread collages. Made from brightly colored embroidery floss, fabric, patience and time, his quilts have been displayed across the United States and Europe. He has been featured in Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, Linda Lapita’s book ‘Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers, Three Centuries of Creativity, Community, and Commerce’, inducted into the McComb Mississippi Wall of Fame, and was awarded the Kentucky Center ArtsReach “Living the Vision” Award for his dedication to arts education and community engagement. Joe’s notable quilts include his Obama Tie Quilt, which depicts the first four years of the Obama administration, and an embroidered denim jacket given to former President Jimmy Carter that highlights key moments of his political career. These art pieces are a part of the permanent collections at Presidents Obama and Carter’s Presidential Centers.

Mallard’s quilts have been exhibited at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky and the Frazier History Museum in Louisville KY. His work will be exhibited at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln Nebraska in April 2026. Though Sunshine Joe is passionate about his craft, his greatest joy comes from knowing that God is the source, and he is simply the vessel.

1

When I was a young boy in Summit, Mississippi, my great-great-grandmother, who was born into slavery lived with us.

I watched her make beautiful quilts when I came home from school.

I remember how she never used a pattern, and her quilts were very bright. She allowed me to thread her needles. To this day, I always use bright colors in my quilts, and I never use a pattern.

My quilts are unique because they are made from tens of thousands of tiny, colorful, hand-tied knots and stitches.

I draw a simple outline of my design on canvas, then I applique’ neckties and other objects onto the surface, and fill the surrounding space with a swirl of color and commentary. My quilts bloom slowly over time as I watch current events unfold. I stitch the names of people, places, and current events over a long period of time while it is happening. In essence, my quilts become artifacts of American culture.

I admired Miles Davis’s ability to experiment and push the limits of his music style. Over the years, Miles played everything from bebop to fusion explorations. Looking back at how my own work has developed, I try to stitch like Miles Davis played. Just as Miles always surrounded himself with exceptional musicians, I surround myself with talented quilters, textile artists, and friends who continue to provide ideas, techniques, and encouragement.

Sunshine Joe Mallard

All pieces are creative embroidery with applique’ hand stitched by Sunshine Joe Mallard and quilted on long arm machine by Angelique Shah. Joes’s tapestries are not for sale.

2

A Mississippi Sunset 1977 33 X 43 Inches

3

The Tree of Life 1980 20 X 16 Inches

4

5

Wanna Moose Around?

1980 30 X 16 Inches

Where Flamingos Fly 1981 14 X 11 Inches

6

7

Creative Juices Flowing 1983 46.5 X 10.5 Inches

African Mask 1991 27.5 X 6 Inches

8

9

Serious Fun 1998 31 X 11.5 Inches

The Other Side of the American Dream 2012 56 X 48.5 Inches

10

Kind of Blue 2014 62 X 46 Inches

11

The Creation Week 2018 11.5 X 47.5 Inches The Creation Week details

12

13

Spread Love, Defeat Hate 2020 49 X 36 Inches

Redeemed 2023 28 X 25 Inches

14

15

Let Freedom Ring 2023 40 X 30 Inches

16

ABOUT CURATOR JULIA YOUNGBLOOD Julia Youngblood, founder of Youngblood Harmonizing Arts, is recognized in the arts and social justice communities for her multifaceted contributions and commitment to fostering creativity and cultural equity.

Julia is a recipient of 2024 and 2025 Fund for the Arts Community Event Grants, the 2023 Curate, Purchase, Inspire award from Louisville Visual Art, and the 2022 Indiana Arts Commission On-Ramp fellowship.

Julia’s academic journey includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennington College and a Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her diverse skill set encompasses curation, arts education, photography, Jin Shin Jyutsu practice, and multidisciplinary artistry, showcased through solo and group exhibitions in Kentucky, Vermont, New Mexico, and California. With a rich history of community engagement, Julia spent sixteen impactful years directing ArtsReach, a renowned community arts program at Kentucky Performing Arts. Julia’s commitment to advancing cultural equity extends beyond local initiatives, as evidenced by her involvement in panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and The Kentucky Arts Council. Julia serves as an advisor on cultural equity for the Kentucky Peer Advisory Network.

Driven by a profound belief in art’s healing and transformative power, Julia is passionate about individual and community well-being and actively engages with various community organizations, including KCAAH’s Samuel Plato Industrial and Creative Arts Institute, JCPS Elev8, Molo Village, Maryhurst, BluePrint 502, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and Dreams with Wings, where Julia facilitates arts programming to empower individuals and foster connection.

In addition to playing a vital role in supporting exhibitions and curation at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, Julia’s recent curatorial projects include It’s More than Resilience:A Park Hill and Algonquin Community Exhibition; Divergent Dreams at Dreams with Wings; and solo exhibitions by CJ Fletcher and Lance Newman at Our Place at Ben Washer Park. Julia’s dedication to amplifying diverse voices and narratives within the arts landscape, and her holistic approach to art and wellness embody a vision of harmonizing mind, body, and spirit for a better world.

17