Known as the “Yo-Yo Queen” for her use of fabric medallions (yo-yos) to decorate quilts, Marquetta Bell-Johnson translates her skills as a textile artist into her role as a panel-making facilitator for The NAMES Project Foundation.

At the 2012 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Bell-Johnson recounted the power of quilting to transform tragedy into celebration.

Filmed: Shaun Weber, Jamal Toye, Marinna Guzy, Kelsey Michael, Andrea Curran, Ashlee Duncan, and Charlie Weber
Edited: Kelsey Michael