BY: KATIE CHICARELLO, POSTED ON
The Growth of Art Quilts’ Popularity-Art Quilts: 1980–1999
When did art quilts start?
How did art quilts establish themselves as an art form and move into mainstream gallery showings, exhibitions, and more? How did art quilters band together? Where did the driving force behind textile art come from? Quilting Arts contributor Sandra Sider answers these questions. She explores the history of the art quilt from 1980–1999. In additionMs. Sider to tracks the growth of art quilts’ popularity.
The Origin of Art Quilts
You may be surprised to learn that the term art quilt did not exist until 1983. Robert Shaw explained in his book The Art Quilt(1997). After launching The Quilt Digest, Michael Kile teamed with curator and writer Penny McMorris to organize The Art Quilt. This traveling exhibition of new works by sixteen artists, above all, trailblazers in the field. The catalogue declared. After that the art quilt emerged. It heralded a dramatic and fundamental change in the history of quilts. Art for walls, not beds, created by artists expressing themselves in original designs of cloth and thread.A first step in the growth of art quilts’ popularity
New venues for art quilt exhibitions and workshops
Several institutions promoting art quilts were founded from the late 1970s until the mid-1980s. The American Museum of Quilts and Related Arts now San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles) started in 1977. Quilt San Diego now Quilt Visions sprung forth in 1985. New England Quilt Museum began in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1987. That is to say that they are all leaders in the art quilt venue world! Another step in the growth of art quilts’ popularity
Five Quilt Institutions
The following decade saw five quilt institutions founded across the country. Beginning with the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado, in 1990. The following year, the National Quilt Museum was founded in Paducah, Kentucky. In 1995 the Virginia Quilt Museum was established in Harrisonburg. The La Conner Quilt Museum in La Conner, Washington (now the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum), opened its doors in 1997. The same year philanthropists and quilt collectors Robert and Ardis James were instrumental in founding the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. These venues exhibited quilts of all types.They provided quilt artists with refreshing new avenues to explore. In addition these venues provided spaces where their work could be collected and appreciated. Venues are important for the growth of art quilts’ popularity.
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Quilt Surface Design Symposium
Quilt artists Nancy Crow and Linda Fowler founded the Quilt Surface Design Symposium (QSDS) in Ohio in 1990.They offered a broad variety of educational opportunitiesadding to the growth of art quilts’ popularity. During the first decade of QSDS, hundreds of students experimented with new techniques and processes in these workshops. Most importantly, the art quilters of the future developed their skills therein.
Quilting By the Lake
By the 1990s, Quilting By the Lake (founded in 1981) in upstate New York had also become a popular destination for quilters in general. Many classes focussed on art quilts by the end of the decade. Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, California(1986)and at Art Quilt Tahoe(1998)expanded where quilt artists shared their expertise. Meanwhile, art quilters practiced their skills. All of these increased the growth of art quilts’ popularity.
Nonprofit Professional Organizations
SDA-Surface Design Association
Several nonprofit professional organizations helped bring momentum and innovation to the Art Quilt Movement during the 1980s and 1990s. Founded in 1977, the Surface Design Association provides a platform for the exchange of ideas, methods, and materials.Theirs is a wide community working in textile media and fiber arts.
Women of Color Quilters Network
In 1985, Dr. Carolyn L. Mazloomi founded The Women of Color Quilters Network. This non-profit group fosters to preserve the art of quilt making among women of color. Today, a few men are members include a few men. The organization offers quilts and fiber art to museums for exhibition. In addition, they research and document African American quilt making.
SAQA- Studio Art Quilt Associates
In 1989, Yvonne Porcella invited 50 quilt artists to join with her to found Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA).They organized conferences and exhibitions. In addition they developed a database of artwork by its members. SAQA promoted their members art to galleries and museums. Now SAQA has grown to 3,500 members in 39 countries. It continues to support the art quilt through education, numerous exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. Moreover,the importance of these different organizations cannot be overemphasized.
In conclusion
In the 1980s and 1990s, art quilts thrived. Makers focused their energy and imagination on this relatively new medium. Museums supported their efforts. Publishers catered to their talents. Artists began to travel to teach workshops internationally. Many of them networked with students and colleagues to share new techniques and exhibitions. They formed a flourishing community of quilt artists that would grow astronomically in the 21st century.
All images here are from SAQA’s new book, Art Quilts Unfolding: 50 Years of Innovation, from Schiffer Publishing. Sandra Sider is editor and co-author of the book.
edited for space
About the Author
Sandra Sider, a studio quilt artist, has published articles and books concerning fiber and art for four decades. Ms. Sider has a Masters in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is a past president of SAQA. In 2012 she became curator for the Texas Quilt Museum. Visit her website here.