Ant trails in sidewalks. Mold growth on outdoor planters. Root systems of weeds. Children’s drawings. For Paula Kovarik, inspiration is found everywhere. Inspiration soon turns into threads, which Kovarik uses to tell stories. She is mesmerized by what the thread wants her to do, and creates in a stream-of-consciousness experience.

Pumphrey Gallery - March 26,2025 - Sept. 6, 2025

"Studio Showcase" features new work by artists Judy Kirpich and Karen Schulz. The quilts initially appear radically different – consider the dark saturated color of Kirpich’s pieces composed of a unique fabric sourced in China in contrast to the colorful hand-dyed and painted layers of Schulz’s work. Both artists, however, create pieces that transform the flat dimension of their textile canvases into a space that invites the viewer to immerse themselves.

Coryell Gallery Jan. 17 - June 7, 2025

"Color Improvisations 3" features 42 powerful, colorful, larger-than-life quilts curated by artist Nancy Crow. The quilts represent 38 artists from the United States, Canada and New Zealand. They are newly made and illustrate excellence and innovation in contemporary quiltmaking through stunning use of color and extraordinary command of various stitched elements.

This exhibit is touring in Germany through the end of 2024. It premiers in North America at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, in March 2025 and then tours throughout North America through 2029.

For centuries, Chinese artisans have employed quilting, piecing, and appliqué to create and embellish textiles. Often, these techniques have been used to produce useful objects, such as clothing and bedding. In the past, sewing was generally a largely practical affair (though often also beautiful), or it was performed by ladies of leisure. Recently, however, Chinese artists and hobbyists—people of all classes and backgrounds—have started to make American-style quilts as a pastime and form of personal expression.

The period from the late 1800s to the early 1900s was a golden age of quilts. New technologies like chemical dyes and sewing machines made materials cheaper and production faster. An expanding awareness of global cultures added new imagery to quilt design vocabulary, as did nostalgia for America’s rapidly receding pioneer history. Women’s involvement in social movements such as Temperance gave quiltmakers topics of personal and national importance to address in their creations.

Susan Else creates three dimensional sculptures with sewn cloth. She describes her work as "stealth art", in which the comfortable ambiance of the textile medium contrasts with narrative imagery that expresses uncomfortable paradoxes of contemporary life. Without a Net, features a mechanized presentation of familiar circus elements that, with a closer look, reveal unexpected twists, meanings and possibilities.

Yorgan is the Turkish word for “quilt.” Quiltmaking has been practiced in Turkey for centuries, from the age of the long-lived Ottoman Empire (c. 1285-1923) to the present day. Intricately block-printed and painted cottons, elegantly embroidered silks, plush velvets, and glistening satins are some of the rich materials and techniques of the Turkish quilt tradition.

Inspired by "Feed Sacks: An American Fairytale," in the West Gallery, Lincoln Modern Quilt Guild members have created modern versions of vintage quilts using a variety of recovered, repurposed, or reclaimed materials. Textiles from denim to livestock feed bags to used clothing and everything in between are given new life in the upcycled creations. 

The first Nebraska fair was held in 1859, while Nebraska was still a U.S. territory. The annual event became known officially as the Nebraska State Fair in 1869 after Nebraska was granted statehood in 1867. The first listing of a quilt competition at the Fair is found in 1909. The competitions have continued since that time with awards presented in a variety of categories such as pieced and appliquéd quilts, best hand or machine quilting, and the top award, 'Best Quilt' or 'Best of Show'.