Every year, students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Japan’s Saitama University collaborate to create an International Quilt Museum exhibition based on what they have learned together about global quilt traditions, but also informed by their own cultural roots and understandings. This year, the students examine quilt and patchwork traditions from around the world that exhibit deep connections to the ideas of frugality, recycling, and sustainability.

“America is now wholly given over to a damn mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash- and should be ashamed of myself if I did succeed.”

- Nathaniel Hawthorne, private letter to William D. Ticknor (January 19, 1855)

Ant trails in sidewalks. Mold growth on outdoor planters. Root systems of weeds. Children’s drawings. For Paula Kovarik, inspiration is found everywhere. Inspiration soon turns into threads, which Kovarik uses to tell stories. She is mesmerized by what the thread wants her to do, and creates in a stream-of-consciousness experience.

Pumphrey Gallery - March 26,2025 - Sept. 6, 2025

"Studio Showcase" features new work by artists Judy Kirpich and Karen Schulz. The quilts initially appear radically different – consider the dark saturated color of Kirpich’s pieces composed of a unique fabric sourced in China in contrast to the colorful hand-dyed and painted layers of Schulz’s work. Both artists, however, create pieces that transform the flat dimension of their textile canvases into a space that invites the viewer to immerse themselves.

Coryell Gallery Jan. 17 - June 7, 2025

"Color Improvisations 3" features 42 powerful, colorful, larger-than-life quilts curated by artist Nancy Crow. The quilts represent 38 artists from the United States, Canada and New Zealand. They are newly made and illustrate excellence and innovation in contemporary quiltmaking through stunning use of color and extraordinary command of various stitched elements.

This exhibit is touring in Germany through the end of 2024. It premiers in North America at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, in March 2025 and then tours throughout North America through 2029.

For centuries, Chinese artisans have employed quilting, piecing and appliqué to create and embellish textiles. Often these techniques have been used to produce useful objects, such as clothing and bedding. In the past, sewing was generally a largely practical affair (though often also beautiful), or it was performed by ladies of leisure. Recently, however, Chinese artists and hobbyists — people of all classes and backgrounds — have started to make American-style quilts as a pastime and form of personal expression.