The National Quilt Museum, located in

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Missour ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

that exhibits

fiber art Fiber art (fibre art in British spelling) refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labor on the part of the artist as ...

and

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. A ...

from around the world. The museum is recognized by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' as one of the world's top quilt displays. This textile museum supports local and expert quilters by providing workshops and other educational activities. The National Quilt Museum was established by Bill and Meredith Schroeder of Paducah and opened to the public on April 25, 1991. It is the only museum dedicated to

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

quilts and quiltmakers. The main gallery is devoted to a rotating selection from the museum's collection of over 600 quilts. Its two other galleries exhibit rotating fiber art exhibits throughout the year. Its founding executive director was Victoria Faoro. The museum also features a traveling exhibit that is made up of quilts and fiber art. In addition, the museum also offers educational opportunities for adults and kids at all skill levels. In 1993 the museum hosted the first African American Quilters Forum and in 1995 the museum developed "Gatherings", an exhibit and conference celebrating quilt documentation projects completed across the country. The museum was honored in May 2008 when the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

designated it the National Quilt Museum of the United States. May Louise Zumwalt, former executive director of the museum, said "Though it does not mean we will receive national funding, it does recognize that we are a quilt museum with national significance." This designation brings additional attention and helps increase the number of visitors. The museum averages 40,000 visitors per year. In July 2021 Matt Collinsworth became chief executive officer of the museum.

References

Buildings and structures in Paducah, Kentucky Art museums established in 1991 Quilt museums in the United States Textile museums in Kentucky Folk art museums and galleries in Kentucky Museums in McCracken County, Kentucky 1991 establishments in Kentucky {{Kentucky-museum-stub

See also

References