The Dairy Barn Arts Center, home of Quilt National, is excited to announce a collaboration with the Ardis & Robert James Foundation and the International Quilt Museum (IQM) to establish the Quilt National Collection at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This collection will bring together Quilt National quilts to preserve, study and document the historic nature of the Quilt National exhibition, which has been a driving force of the contemporary quilt movement. 
“After celebrating our 20th biennial last year, I began a quest to make sure the Quilt National legacy and history of this great exhibition, the quilts and the artists, which were the pioneers of the contemporary quilt movement, become preserved for future generations,” said Jane Forrest Redfern, Executive Director of the Dairy Barn Arts Center. “This collaboration with the Ardis and Robert James Foundation and the International Quilt Museum will not only preserve all of the artists and their works, but Quilt National’s history and the evolution of the art quilt movement.”

To kick-start and capture the best of contemporary quilts for years to come, the partners announced four new awards beginning with Quilt National ’19.  Three Quilt National jurors will select four quilts to receive new purchase awards, including: Best of Show ($7,500), Award of Excellence ($5,000), Most Innovative Use of Material ($5,000), and Emerging Artist Award ($2,500). The winning quilts will travel for up to two years before being permanently placed in the Quilt National Collection at the IQM. All quilts will be considered for all prizes, but there will be an opt out for artists who do not want to be considered for these purchase awards.  

Quilt National ‘19 opens at The Dairy Barn Arts Center on Saturday, May 25, 2019 and closes Monday, September 2, 2019.  As part of opening weekend, there will be a second Quilt National Reunion on Saturday, May 25, 2019 in the evening.  All past and present QN ‘19 artists are invited to attend.

Quilt National ‘19 submissions open June 1 and close September 4, 2018. For more information on Quilt National ‘19 submission rules, how to submit to Quilt National ‘19 or the Quilt National artist reunion, please visit www.dairybarn.org/.

The International Quilt Museum is home to the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection. Located on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s East Campus, the collection spans five centuries and represents more than 50 countries. Its mission is to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. IQM makes its academic home in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design within the university’s College of Education & Human Sciences. For more information about the museum, visit www.quiltstudy.org.