Sandra Sawatzky: Making the Black Gold Tapestry
Category: Event Calendar
Date and Time
- Saturday, Apr 5, 2025 4pm - 6pm
Location
Museum of Design Atlanta
1315 Peachtree St
Details
Artist, filmmaker, and environmentalist Sandra Sawatzky spent nine years hand-stitching The Black Gold Tapestry, a 220-foot embroidered epic that traces humanity’s relationship with oil—from its earliest uses in ancient Mesopotamia to its role in the modern global economy. Inspired by the legendary Bayeux Tapestry, Sawatzky set out to create a “film on cloth,” weaving together a rich visual narrative of discovery, invention, and consequence.
Through meticulous research, she captured 5,000 years of history, embroidering scenes of geology, industry, child labor, and space exploration—alongside thousands of figures, animals, and architectural details. At this event, she will share insights into her process, the political and environmental themes in her work, and the power of embroidery as a storytelling tool.
A Q&A with the artist will follow the talk.
