08/28/2026
Join Heather powers, president of the International Center for Indigo Culture and SCAD alumna (Fibers BFA, 1998), and Professor Jessica Smith as they guide Fibers students through cultivating and processing Indigofera suffriticosa at the BACK40, SCAD's sustainable urban farm
This virtual program is designed to educate consumers, artists, and farmers about the importance of this irreplaceable regional agricultural and cultural resource. It explores indigo's history in the Lowcountry, the coastal region from north of Charleston, South Carolina through Savannah, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida. Once a major colonial cash crop and source of the regions iconic deep blue dye, indigo is now being revived by Gullah Geechee farmers and artisans to preserve cultural heritage, sustain family lands, and produce natural, non-toxic dyes.
Over two days, the SCAD Fibers department and Heather Powers demonstrate cultivating and processing Indigo leaves into dye stuff, covering harvest, fermentation, filtration, drying and storage.
Day 1 - Thursday, September 24, 12-1:30 PM (est)
Examines indigo's significance as both cash crop and art form, including tools and methods used by enslaved people, many from West African Indigo-dying traditions, and how contemporary artisan and farmers carry the practice forward today. As students harvest plants, Heather will demonstrate a fresh leaf using freshly picked leaves.
Day 2- Friday, September 25, 10-2 PM (est)
Covers pigment extraction, an half-day process, open to time in and out, culminating in filtration of the extracted Indigo for drying and storage.
All stages will be recorded and shared with registered participants afterwards.
Link to register for this FREE event in profile.
