Bennett Cafarelli

Garnet High School (1948, 1954, 1960)

Made in 2026 at @kentculturalalliance’s history themed art residency.

Woven with cotton yarn and framed in solid walnut (with major help from Bob of @finishingtouch_ctown). The color palette for these weavings were sourced from class colors shown in the 1948, 1954, and 1960 Garnet Swans and Garneteer, both names of yearbooks from Henry Highland Garnet High School (one of the last all Black schools to operate leading up to the period of forced integration). They layer chronologically with the oldest date in the back and the most recent towards the front. These yearbooks and other local documentation of Black history in Kent County, MD can be accessed online through the Chesapeake Heartland digital archive (@chesapeakeheartland). Special thanks to Stu for gallery instillation, Bob Ortiz for help modifying my loom, Jamie for lending equipment, as well as everyone at KCA for making my six week stay in Chestertown so meaningful.

Photos taken by @caro_jphillips