including thornton dial, ralph griffin, bessie harvey, lonnie holley, joe light, ronald lockett, joe minterr, annie mae young, and purvis young. the history of the partnership between the fine arts museums of san francisco and the souls grown deep foundation dates back to 2006, when the museums hosted the loan exhibition the quilts of gee's bend.the cultural origins of these artworks can be traced back to the african diaspora, slavery, and the jim crow era of institutionalized racism, which restricted both physical freedom and freedom of expression for african americans. despite these barriers, in the segregated and comparatively safe spaces of churches and cemeteries, as well as in the fields and forests, african americans created a cultural language that led to the evolution of distinctly african american musical forms such as gospel, blues, jazz, and rock 'n' roll. these rich musical traditions were paralleled by visual traditions that typically were symbolic in form or concealed from view in order to escape censure or destruction. working with little or no formal training, and often emp