The International Quilt Museum at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

is the home of the largest known public collection of

quilt A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of padding, batting or w ...

s in the world.. Also known as Quilt House, the current facility opened in 2008.

History

The International Quilt Museum was founded in 1997 when native Nebraskans Ardis and Robert James donated their collection of nearly 950 quilts to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Their contribution became the centerpiece of what is now the largest publicly held quilt collection in the world. Through private funds from the University of Nebraska Foundation and a lead gift from the James family, the center opened in its new location in 2008. The glass and brick “green” building, designed by

Robert A.M. Stern Architects Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP (RAMSA), is an architecture firm based in New York City. First established by Robert A. M. Stern (as Stern Hagmann Architects) in 1969, it is now organized as a limited liability partnership with 16 general partne ...

, houses the quilts, a state-of-the-art research and storage space, educational displays, and custom-crafted galleries where selections from the collections and special exhibitions are shown to the public on a rotating basis. In 2015, the museum opened a privately funded expansion that doubled its collections storage and gallery space. In July 2019, the museum changed its name to the International Quilt Museum or IQM. The quilts range from early examples of American and European quilts to contemporary studio quilts and international quilts. The collection now numbers more than 6000 quilts from fifty countries, dating from the 17th century to the present. Faculty and curatorial staff, visiting scholars and graduate student researchers pursue the study of the world's quilt heritage at the center, and an ongoing acquisitions program seeks to document the full scope of global

quilting Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. ...

traditions. The museum publishes catalogues to accompany some of its exhibitions, and these have included ''Wild by Design'', ''Quilts in Common'', ''American Quilts in the Modern Age 1870 - 1940'', ''Perspectives: Art, Craft, Design and the Studio Quilt'', and ''Marseille: The Cradle of White Corded Quilting''. The museum is located at 1523 N. 33rd Street in Lincoln, NE. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design in the College of Education and Human Sciences offers a master's degree in Textile History with a quilt studies emphasis.

Gallery

Image:International Quilt Study Center & Museum Pojagi Exhibition.jpg, Exhibition of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

n Pojagi patchwork and textiles from the collection of Soon-Hee Kim of Korea. Image:International Quilt Study Center & Museum Quilts in Common Exhibition.jpg, Exhibition "Quilts in Common"

References

External links

International Quilt Museum

Master of Arts Degree in Textile History with a Quilt Studies Emphasis
at

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

{{authority control Quilt museums in the United States Folk art museums and galleries in Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln Museums in Lincoln, Nebraska Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Nebraska University museums in Nebraska Art museums and galleries in Nebraska Art museums established in 1997 1997 establishments in Nebraska Robert A. M. Stern buildings