Quilts=Art=Quilts

Quilts=Art=Quilts is an international juried quilt exhibition at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York. The Art Center has been a longstanding proponent of quilts as a visual arts medium and has been presenting quilts in a gallery setting since 1981.  

Jurors select quilts based on overall quality of design, visual impact and originality.  Prizes are awarded, including $1,000 for Best of Show.

Applicants may submit 2 artworks for consideration. You may submit one full view image and one detail image of each work for a total of 4 images. Detail images are optional.

Full view images must be labeled with the title of the artwork. 

Detail images MUST be labeled as follows: Title of artwork_detail.

Do not submit more than 2 artworks. Detail images that are not properly labeled, or applicants who submit more than 2 artworks will be disqualified.

The fee for non-members is $35. The entry fee for current members of the Schweinfurth Art Center is $30. To get the membership discount you must call the Art Center at 315-255-1553 for the promo code.

Jurors:

Dorothy Caldwell

Dorothy Caldwell is a graduate of Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and presently maintains an active international exhibition and teaching schedule from her studio in Hastings, Ontario. She has been awarded grants to carry out research projects in Japan and India, and has worked "on site" in the Australian outback, the Canadian Arctic, and Newfoundland. Dorothy has completed major architectural commissions, and her work is included in public collections including the American Museum of Art and Design, NYC, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The International Quilt Museum and Study Center University of Nebraska, The Canadian Department of External Affairs, The Jack Larsen Collection, New York, The Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, Quebec, and the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa, among others. She was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and is the recipient of the Prix Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts, awarded to one artist annually (a Governor General’s Award in visual and media arts).

Michael James

Michael James's practice is focused on fabric constructions. His textiles have been recognized and exhibited internationally. They are included in the collections of the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Racine Art Museum, the Newark Museum, the Mint Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Shelburne Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution, among others.

For his work in the domain of non-traditional quilts James was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1992 by his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, became a Fellow of the American Craft Council in 2001, and in 2009 was honored with the University of Nebraska’s system-wide “Outstanding Research and Creative Activity” Award (ORCA), given for a sustained record of excellent accomplishment in research or creative activity while at the university. In 2015 he was honored by the Renwick Alliance with its Master of the Medium Award, for lifetime accomplishment. Since 2002 he has concentrated  his creative efforts on digital textile printing and its interface with the quilt as mixed media platform. His work explores the liminal and fluid borderland between the physical and metaphysical worlds.

James joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2000. He served as department chair and Ardis James Professor in Textiles, Merchandising & Fashion Design in the College of Education and Human Sciences from 2015 to his retirement in early 2020. While at UNL he taught foundation design and textile design, as well as graduate courses in the areas of material culture/quilt studies.

Dates to Remember

Entry Deadline: August 6, 2024

Notification of Jury Results: September 6, 2024

Delivery of Quilts: October 7-11, 2024

Artist Reception & Awards: Saturday Nov. 2, 2024 4pm-6:30pm

Exhibition: November 2, 2024-January 5, 2025

Return shipping of quilts: Beginning January 8, 2025
 

Selection Process

An emphasis is placed on overall quality of design, originality and visual impact.  Preliminary acceptance will be granted on the basis of the digital image submission.  Prizes will be awarded for excellence in design and workmanship in multiple categories, including $1,000 for Best in Show. Prizes are determined after the exhibit is installed.
 

Definitions & Conditions of Entry

• A quilt is a fabric sandwich comprised of at least two layers:  a top, a back and usually a filling. These are held together with quilting or tying threads. Integration of non-fabric items is acceptable.
• Up to two entries of original work per person are permitted.
• Preliminary acceptance will be granted based on digital images. Final acceptance will be granted after receipt and examination of quilt.
• The jurors and staff of the Schweinfurth Art Center reserve the right to refuse any accepted entry for exhibition if it does not contain the same qualities as the submitted image.
• Quilts must measure a minimum of 900 square inches total (height x width=square inches).  The vertical dimensions of any single piece may not exceed 108 inches.
• Quilts must have been completed in 2021, 2022, 2023 or 2024.
• Quilts must be in pristine condition and be show ready.
• Quilts with pre-programmed computerized machine quilting (that is not designed by the artist) are not eligible.
• Quilts made or derived from kits, workshops, classes or commercial patterns are not eligible.
• Quilts must have a continuous 3” wide sleeve attached to the back of the top of the quilt. Exceptions are made if appropriate means of hanging or display is provided.
• Quilts must be available from November 2, 2024- January 5, 2025.
• Quilts previously exhibited at the Schweinfurth Art Center are not eligible.
• Quilts that do not meet conditions of entry will not be accepted.
• The Art Center will retain a 25% commission on all sales made during the exhibition.  An insurance value and a sale price, which includes commission (unless the quilt is not for sale), must be included in the application.
   

Entry Fee

The entry fee for non-members is $35. The entry fee for Members of the Schweinfurth Art Center is $30. Entry fees must be paid online with a credit card at the time of entry. To receive your membership discount you must call the Art Center at 315-255-1553 for the promo code.
 

Notification of Acceptance

Notification of acceptance will be emailed September 6, 2024  

Delivery/Retrieval

All quilts must arrive at Schweinfurth Art Center between Monday, Oct. 7 and Saturday Oct. 11. Hand delivery will be accepted within the same time dates during regular hours: Monday – Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm. We cannot accept deliveries on Sunday. Failure to provide an accepted work will result in the artist’s being ineligible for future exhibitions.

Artists are responsible for packing, shipping and insurance of accepted work to and from the Art Center. Work must be shipped in a substantial, reusable container. All continental US based artists must provide return shipping forms for quilts that need to be returned to artists by the Art Center via mail. Alaska/Hawaii, other US territories, and international artists may ship their work one way, and the Art Center will invoice them for the return shipping.

Quilts may be picked up from Tuesday, January 7, through Friday, January 10, 2025, from 10am-5pm or by appointment. Shipped work will be returned by mail beginning Wednesday, January 8, 2025.

Insurance

Quilts must have an insurance value indicated on the entry form.  It must be defendable in the event of a claim. The Art Center reserves the right to require a certified appraisal for any quilt valued over $1,000.

The Art Center will insure objects while on site for the insurance value indicated on the entry form. The Artist is responsible for insurance during shipping both ways.

Application Requirements

Digital Images

All images must be submitted through callforentry.org If you have trouble uploading your files- you must contact Call for Entry for support.

LIST OF ACCEPTABLE UPLOAD-READY FILE FORMATS

File Type: JPEG or JPG only.

File Dimensions: 1,200 pixels or greater on the longest side.

File Size: Under 5 MB.

Color Profile: sRGB
 

Eligibility Criteria

Artwork must be created within the last three years.