Springfield Public Health Month Committee

The Springfield Museums are saddened to learn of the passing of Faith Ringgold (1930-2024), one of the most influential artists of her generation. She was 93 years old.

An artist, activist, and writer, Faith Ringgold was born and raised in Harlem, New York where she developed an interest in art at an early age. Her childhood memories of Harlem, including her father’s powerful storytelling and her mother’s work as a seamstress and fashion designer, influenced Ringgold’s artistic path. After earning a bachelor’s degree at the City College of New York, she went on to complete an MFA at City University of New York in 1959. In the 1960s, Ringgold created oil paintings and posters that advocated for the rights of African Americans and women. In the 1970s, she began to integrate textiles into her practice, sometimes with assistance from her mother. Often discussed as assertions of African American identity, Ringgold’s fabric dolls of this period drew inspiration from West African textiles and sculptures. By the 1980s, Ringgold was creating her now famous “story quilts” that conveyed imaginative narratives drawn from her lived experience as well as from collective histories of struggle and triumph. Through her dolls and quilts, Ringgold claimed sewing as a modality of fine art (rather than “craft” or “women’s work”), and in doing so challenged the Eurocentric canon.

May she rest in peace, love, and warmth. Her legacy will live on for generations to come.

Dancing on the George Washington Bridge II, 2020, Faith Ringgold, silkscreen on silk with pieced fabric border, Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, Museum Purchase. 2022.D09.

Eclipses happen once every one to three years worldwide, but are visible in North America
approximately once every 12 years. Today's eclipse will be visible in more than a dozen U.S.
states, including Massachusetts. The solar eclipse will begin today in Springfield at 2:13 p.m.,
reach its maximum at 3:37 p.m. and conclude at 4:37 p.m.
During solar eclipses, it is never safe to look directly at the eclipse without proper eye
protection. When watching a partial solar eclipse directly with your eyes, you must look through
safe solar viewing glasses (“eclipse glasses”) or a safe handheld solar viewer at all times.
Eclipse glasses are not regular sunglasses; regular sunglasses, no matter how dark, are not
safe for viewing the sun.
Always inspect your eclipse glasses or handheld viewer before use; if torn, scratched, or
otherwise damaged, discard the device. Always supervise children using solar viewers.
Do not look at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device. (CHC marketing team)