The International Quilt Museum (IQM) is pleased to announce Sarah Walcott as the new Ardis B. James Curator of Collections.  

“Sarah is the perfect choice to serve as the museum’s next curator of collections,” said Leslie Levy, the Ardis and Robert James Executive Director at the IQM. “Her institutional knowledge and expertise of the art form are valuable to our leadership. We are excited for her to help guide the museum and its collection into a new era.”  

Walcott is the second curator of collections at the IQM since the museum’s establishment at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1997.

"Quilts connect us all, and I look forward to expanding our reach to new audiences and communities," Walcott said. "With the International Quilt Museum’s world-class collection as a foundation, we have the opportunity to highlight the emerging artists who are reimagining traditional quiltmaking."

Walcott initially began as an intern at the museum in 2014. After joining the staff full-time as collections assistant in 2017, Walcott was hired as the museum’s collections manager a year later where she accessioned and deaccessioned objects, prepared objects for photography and helped maintain the museum’s growing database.  

Walcott has assisted with the curation of several exhibitions at the IQM including “Domestic Interiors,” “The Haunting of Quilt House,” and 2024’s acclaimed “Feed Sacks: An American Fairy Tale.” In addition to her work in collections and exhibitions, Walcott has established collaborative projects with Lincoln Public School’s Arts & Humanities Focus Program, Lincoln’s NAACP youth chapter, and the Glenn Korff School of Music at UNL.

Walcott is a Ph.D. candidate in human sciences with a material culture and textile studies concentration. She holds a Master of Arts from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in Textile History with a concentration in Quilt Studies. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English.