Artist as Quiltmaker 2026

The Artist as Quiltmaker challenges the idea of quilts as purely domestic or decorative objects, presenting them instead as powerful works of contemporary art. Long associated with warmth, home, and inheritance, quilts are also visual records of lived experience—sites of innovation, mastery, storytelling, memory, and activism. Quilting developed in contexts where women's creative labor was excluded from formal art institutions. Quilts require many of the same skills celebrated in painting and sculpture, including complex composition, sophisticated color relationships, material experimentation, and sustained technical discipline. Quilts also function as collective memory across cultures, preserving community histories where written records were scarce. This exhibition foregrounds contemporary quilt artists who continue to expand the form, affirming quilting as a vital and ongoing artistic practice.

The exhibition is open to contemporary artists working in quilt-based practices. Hand-stitched works are especially encouraged; machine-stitched works will also be considered. Artists living in the US may submit up to three artworks for consideration, with one artwork per application required. Work must have been completed within the last five years and may not have been previously exhibited at FAVA. Maximum artwork dimension is 108 inches in height or width. Collaborative works are eligible. Artists must deliver and pick up their work in person; no mail-in work will be accepted.

Entry fee is $40 for the first application. A maximum of three works may be submitted using coupon codes Entry2 and Entry3 for additional entries. Submission deadline is Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at midnight MST. Jurying will be conducted April 1–April 24, 2026, with notifications by April 28, 2026. Accepted artwork is due May 15–May 30, 2026. The exhibition runs June 13–August 2, 2026, with an opening reception on Saturday, June 13, 2026. Pick-up window for unsold work is August 4–14, 2026. FAVA retains a 40% commission on all sales, with artist payment issued within 30 days of the exhibition's close. FAVA will insure accepted work for 70% of fair market value while in its care. For questions, contact [email protected].