Quilt National ’23: The Best in Contemporary Quilts

Quilt National ’23: The Best in Contemporary Quilts now is over!

Quilt National ’23: The Best in Contemporary Quilts: The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio recently has announced its juried exhibition and intrnational competition Quilt National '23: The Best in Contemporary Quilts inviting everyone worldwide to participate.

➜ Short description

The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio recently has opened entries for its juried exhibition title Quilt National '23: The Best in Contemporary Quilts.

Quilt National ’23 is the twenty-third in the series of international juried exhibitions dedicated to promoting the contemporary quilt by serving as a showcase for NEW artwork (completed after September 8, 2020) that provides the viewer with an appreciation of the variety of techniques and innovative trends in the medium of layered and stitched fabric.

Submited artwork must possess the basic structural characteristics of a quilt. It must be predominately fiber or fabric-like material and MUST be composed of at least two full and distinct layers – a face layer and a backing layer. The face layer may be described by any or a combination of the following terms: pieced, appliquéd, whole cloth, or stitched/fused to a foundation. The face and backing layers must be held together by hand or machine-made functional quilting stitches or other elements that pierce all layers and are distributed throughout the surface of the artwork.
At least some of these stitches or elements should be visible on the back of the artwork. As an alternative, the artwork may be a modular construction (an assemblage of smaller quilts.)

The jurors will select artworks that represent unique approaches to the medium and demonstrate the breadth and variation of contemporary expressions. Artwork will be judged on originality, design, technique, and craftsmanship.

Approximately 85 artworks will be selected for display at The Dairy Barn Arts Center from May 27, 2023 - September 4, 2023.

➜ Submission requirements:

➜ Each artwork entered will require a set of two digital images. One image must show the overall artwork, including the edges. The second image must show a detailed area of the artwork. A second detailed image is encouraged but not required. If the artwork is three-dimensional, a third detail image is acceptable.

All submission photos must be in focus, properly exposed with full depth of field and full range of contrast. No part of the artwork should be obscured by shadow. Backgrounds should be gray, black, white, or earth tones.
The artwork in the entry image should appear as you would wish it to be reproduced.

➜ Images must be of completed artwork, NOT ARTWORK IN PROGRESS.

➜ Be sure each file is saved as.JPG. Acceptable resolution is 170 dpi. Image should be sized no larger than 1800 pixels on the longest side. Maximum file size is 5 MB. Compression: .JPG high. Color Mode: RGB.

➜ Evaluation Criteria:

This competition is open to everyone worldwide.

➜ Prize:

Approximately 85 quilts will be juried into the exhibition and the following awards will be given:

PURCHASE AWARDS
With the support of the Robert and Ardis James Foundation, four artworks will win purchase awards and their quilts will be placed into the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Best of Show: $7,500 sponsored by MODA for the most outstanding artwork of the exhibition.
Most Innovative Use of Material: $5,000 sponsored by the Robert & Ardis James Foundation for the most innovative artwork.
Award of Excellence: $5,000 sponsored by Aurifil for outstanding artistry.
Emerging Artist: $2,500 sponsored by Mountain Mist to the most outstanding first-time exhibitor.

The purchase awards will be given opening weekend and the quilts will tour for two years and then placed in the International Quilt Museum’s Quilt National Collection for exhibition, study and research. In the entry process, each artist will be asked if they want their quilts to be considered for the purchase awards.

CASH/TRAVEL AWARDS
These awards will be awarded to Quilt National ’23 participating artists. During the Submission process, artists will be asked to answer questions about their eligibility for these prizes.

➜ Entry fees:

Entry fee is $45..