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Press Release: 10 July 2008 |
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Quilt Museum Opens to the public
Europe’s first museum dedicated to quilting and textile arts opened its new facility on 7 June 2008, in historic York’s medieval St Anthony’s Hall. The Quilt Museum and Gallery is the national headquarters of The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles and its world-famous Heritage Collection.
The Quilt Museum and Gallery adds another unique attraction to York’s fabulous portfolio of historic sites, museums and collections. The earliest known signed and dated patchwork, the colourful 1718 patchwork coverlet, is among some 600 quilts in the Guild’s Heritage Collection, which also includes miniature pieces, quilted clothing, tools and equipment. In addition to showing the Heritage Collection, there will be a programme of special textile exhibitions from the UK and abroad.
The inaugural exhibition Quilts in Time: Journey from Bed to Wall (7 June to 5 October 2008) is guest curated by Helen Joseph, former Keeper of Contemporary Craft at Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead. Around two-thirds of the quilts on display in the opening exhibition will be from the Guild’s own Collection while the remainder of items on show will be borrowed from contemporary quiltmakers including artists like Pauline Burbidge. Visitors will be treated to favourite Collection items like the complex Mrs Billings coverlet and the Kaleidoscope quilt made for a ‘bottom drawer’ as well as Michele Walker’s Fieldforce, acquired by the Guild in 2006. The iconic 1718 silk patchwork coverlet will also have a rare outing. The Quilts in Time exhibition is funded by Arts Council England.
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