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The Museum of the American Quilter's Society grew from a nationwide Quilt Documentation Project that began in Kentucky in the early 1980s. The original concern was that much of our state quilt history was being "sold away" without documentation of the art. Quilts made in Kentucky and the Midwest sold for three times more on the East and West coasts than they did in Kentucky. All the best quilts were migrating out of the Midwest!
Our local state effort to photograph, document and collect native quilt art soon spread to thirty-four states. "The Gatherings: America's Quilt Heritage Display" was the collection pulled from collections in each of the participating states. The permanent collection at the Museum of the American Quilter's Society is comprised of quilts collected from across the country. Many are award winners from the American Quilter's Society Show.
The Museum was built here in 1991 mainly because Meredith and Bill Schroeder, the founders of the American Quilter's Society, live in Paducah.
The first big quilt show was held in 1985 with cash awards of $25,000. Today nearly 40,000 visitors a year come to see both the Quilt Show and the many visiting collections that are displayed at the quilt museum. 30,000 people are in town during the American Quilt Show held each spring when over 400 quilts are on display at the Executive Inn convention hall. These visitors also attend workshops or lectures and visit approximately 100 merchants selling supplies, designs, and quilted items. Over $80,000 in cash is awarded during the Quilt Show and Contest.
We are a little liberal in our definition of quilts. Many of these quilt designers are known better in the art community than they are in the quilt community. Michael James, from Massachusetts has developed a highly recognizable style over the past twenty years. Jan Meyer also is nationally recognized for her quilts and for textile art. Her expressive works often tell personal stories. It's interesting to study quilts because even random patterns tell a story. There's a reason that someone designed the quilt in just that way.
Color, texture, pattern, and technique all enter into the art of quilt making. We see a lot of innovation based on a traditional idea. This quilt, for example, has a repeated pattern, as many quilts do; but have you ever seen a quilt based on a factory scene, as this is? That's the artist at work. Or notice this one, with the dancing forks and spoons and flying pigs!
Quilt artists might be specialists in fabric dying, or sculpture. They often think of quilting as soft sculpture. The quilts are three dimensional and there is so much that can be done with them because of the stuffing. Here's something else, a quilt done by a paper artist. It's made from paper, not fabric. As do most artists, quilt artists are always trying to push the limits.
Caring for the collections is an art in itself. Different textiles have different care techniques. One of our concerns is the light, which I'm adjusting today. Our flood lights have UV filters, but the lights need to be monitored just like you set the lighting for your camera. We try to keep the light at between 7 and 10 "foot candles" to keep the quilts from fading. At 5 p.m. the lights go off and don't come on again until 10 a.m. Fading is one reason we don't allow flash photography inside the museum.
We've had quilts displayed from more than ten different countries, including collections from Russia and Japan. We have the largest display of amateur and professional quilts in the world and visitors come from all over the world to see quilt designs as varied as the countries they represent. In fact, my favorite quilt quote is, "You can't make a blanket statement about quilters, because they are so diverse!"
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