Auburn’s Black Family Album

May 3 to May 17, 2025

Auburn’s rich history has connections to the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, William Seward and Women’s Suffrage. Today, Auburn and Cayuga County continue to struggle with diversity and inclusion because of systemic racism.

Ellen M. Blalock joined the Schweinfurth Art Center as our first Artist-in-Residence in 2022, working to bridge the gap between Auburn’s African American community and the center. Blalock’s project sought to collect family stories and empower the community to become storytellers of their own history through photography and oral history.

Ellen photographed families, churches, and events and invited groups to the art center to transform their family photographs into quilts. She debuted a selection of photographs from the project in “Faces of Tomorrow,” an exhibit at the Booker T. Washington Community Center that launched on the city of Auburn’s 2024 Juneteenth celebration.

The project culminated in the Auburn’s Black Family Album book donated to Seymour Library, with a book launch celebration at the Carriage House behind the Cayuga Museum on April 12, 2025.

About the artist

I believe my job as an artist and documentarian is to be a conduit to listen and tell stories of the ignored and underrepresented. Through art I use my platform to raise awareness of the human
condition, social injustices, cultural diversities and religious and spiritual beliefs. I have addressed: Deaf community, GLBTQ families, African American teen fathers, trauma and mental health in Black communities, mothers of murdered children, refugees from Muslim countries, and women’s suffrage.

Although I work in several mediums: photography, video, drawing, and fiber, making quilts have a special meaning for me. I believe that every stitch and quilt I make, honors my ancestors, the many women in my family who made quilts — I am replacing what has been lost and stolen.

I was the first artist-in-resident at the Schweinfurth, supported by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, Creatives Rebuild New York; a recipient of there Black Equity & Excellence Grant from the Central New York Community Foundation; and a recipient of the City of Syracuse Arts & Culture Recovery Fund grant. My work has been exhibited at several museums and galleries throughout the United States. I have exhibited 3 times in the Quilt=Art=Quilt annual exhibition at the Schweinfurth, and 2 of those times, my quilts have received first place awards.