Bilphena Decontee Yahwon, supported by a new Craft Archive Fellowship, is exploring connections between Liberian basket weaving and the sweetgrass basketry traditions of Gullah Geechee communities along the South Carolina coast. The fellowship, offered in partnership with the Center for Craft, awards $5,000 to researchers documenting underrepresented craft histories in the United States.
Yahwon first visited St. Helena Island, off the South Carolina coast, in 2021 and was struck by linguistic and cultural parallels to her native Liberia. She wrote that she could "hear Liberia in the way people spoke" through the rhythm and cadence of Gullah speech. At the historic Penn Center on the island, she encountered images of women using woven baskets to separate rice from chaff—a practice she immediately recognized from her experiences in Liberia.
The Sea Islands baskets, woven from local grasses, palmetto, and other plant materials found along the Southeastern coast, have become a defining craft tradition of Gullah Geechee culture in the Lowcountry region. Yahwon's research traces how these fannuh baskets serve as both cultural tools and vessels of memory across the Atlantic, documenting their significance to communities on both continents.
