Akofena: Defender of the Land

Renée Fleuranges-Valdes

born 1959

Akofena: Defender of the Land, 2022

Portfolio/Series title: Warrior Woman series #4

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: cotton; silk; thread; yarn; Swarovski crystals; cotton fiber; piecing; appliqué; embroidering

Credit line: Museum purchase: Peter T. Bohan Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2024.0133

On display: Perkins Central Court

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Bold Women

This quilt presents the story of Akofena, a mythical Afro-futurist warrior who artist Renée Fleuranges-Valdes says is “here to defend our ancestral rights to land ownership.” Rising from a cloud of raw cotton from a Southern plantation, Akofena boldly represents ideas of Black liberation, reclamation, and working for the good of one’s communities. A fighter for the future, she embodies the vision that those of African descent are central to world order.