Bio

Precious Lovell’s experience of growing up in the 60’s and 70’s in a small North Carolina town deeply impacted her art practice in multiple ways. She is an artist, designer and maker based in Raleigh, NC. She holds a Master of Art and Design degree with a Fibers and Surface Design concentration and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design. Her work is a reflection of her mis-education in the public-school system and her re-education at home. Through supportive parents and extended family, she learned to embrace heritage and culture and express herself through making. The materials and methods for making that spoke to her were stitching and cloth, those embraced by her maternal and paternal mothers and aunts.

Her mixed media sociocultural creative practice explores the narrative potential of cloth and clothing. The cultural significance, storytelling, aesthetic, and technical qualities of traditional textiles and clothing, particularly those of the African Diaspora, greatly influence her work. She was granted an international Residency Fellowship at the Instituto Sacatar in Bahia, Brazil in 2017 and was the 2022 Brightwork Fellow at Anchorlight in Raleigh, NC. Precious has traveled to 45 countries researching and collecting textiles and clothing. Previously, a fashion designer and Associate Professor, Precious has presented lectures on cloth and clothing of the African Diaspora at national and international conferences, universities and museums. Her work has been exhibited in the US and internationally.