This cutting-edge exhibition shows how textile art can expand both into the third dimension and into the future. The wide variety of pieces selected by juror Bruce Hoffman include vessels, wearables, wall-pieces, and sculptural artworks.

Birds, insects, and even some mammals are able to fly and soar. Plant seeds and kites are carried on the breeze, and the perfect pass can float through the air. Humankind has dreamt of ways to fly from Icarus’ attempt to create his own wings to the advent of airplanes, satellites, and  space exploration. This exhibition provides new perspectives through which to see our world.

Premieres in February 2020 at AQS QuiltWeek Daytona

In this digital age, we cannot escape our own images, whether taken as a selfie or found on social media. Does our image reflect our individual identity or do we see what we are conditioned by society to see? We need to look beyond the mirror to see our strength of character, intelligence, creativity, skills and our potential to be even more than what can be reflected.

This exhibition will premiere in 2020 at Quilt Festival Houston

Connecting Our Natural Worlds showcases artwork that beautifully illustrates the natural wonder of habitats around the globe. Through their own unique artistic interpretation, each artist has identified danger to flora and fauna in their own backyards and recommended a call to action that can be taken to help save the species. The selected pieces will inspire viewers to get closer to nature and become better stewards for our environment.

When the sun dips below the horizon, the world changes: the trees are lit by the silvery light of the moon, and warm lamps glow in a child's room as they listen to a bedtime story. Owls and bats take to the sky for their evening meals, while other animals curl up safely in their dens. A collection of abstract nightscapes, animal portraits, and other nighttime observations, Dusk to Dawn offers a glimpse of the mysterious world that emerges when darkness arrives.

Many things in life and history demonstrate a recurring pattern of cycles and change, of growth and decline. From movements in history to the phases of our lives, the seasons, the position of the stars and planets, conversations, even the progression of a piece of music or literature, artists are invited to explore Ebb and Flow in a two-dimensional artwork.

This exhibition will premiere in 2020 at Quilt Festival Houston

The refugee crisis has imposed severe impacts on the social, economic, and political structures of host countries, especially poor and developing countries. This powerful and timely exhibition illustrates the global challenges arising from the current refugee crisis impacting countries across the globe.

Today we find ourselves living in a society in which gun violence feels commonplace. Yet an enormous divide exists between people who cherish their heritage of gun ownership and others who are concerned about the rising tide of gun violence. Artists have been a catalyst for difficult societal conversations throughout history. Guns: Loaded Conversations seeks to engage viewers of differing opinions to listen to each other and to encourage community initiatives that may inspire action in seeking solutions.

“Layered & Stitched: 50 Years of Innovative Art” is a gorgeous showcase of 50 art quilts by renowned master artists. Seminal works show the evolution of the art quilt from the earliest pioneers creating during the 1960s through to today’s artists experimenting with new forms, new materials, and new digital technologies. 

An invitational exhibition of one work each by 29 artists featured in the new book Art Quilts International: Abstract & Geometric by Martha Sielman. These engaging works of art represent a range of styles across the abstract art spectrum. Participating artists come from Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, and across the US. 

Metamorphosis generates transformative change in shape, nature, or structure. Animals physically develop and change from birth to maturity. Concepts and ideas morph and change over time. Even the earth’s landscape progresses through many geological and ecological stages. Change may be positive, negative, frightening or enlightening. The pieces in this exhibition demonstrate the inevitability of change—physical, philosophical or personal — and the results of such transformations, no matter how subtle.

Pablo Picasso said, "To draw, you must close your eyes and sing." Both music and art can elicit emotion, create mood, evoke images, suggest movement, as well as reflect light, depth, and color. This exhibition explores all the wonderful ways in which music can serve as inspiration for the creative process.

Premieres in March 2020 at the National Quilt Museum

Opposing forces shape our reality in ways that are both readily apparent as well as hidden. Artwork included in this exhibit explores contradictions and affinities: Yin and Yang, the irresistible force versus the immovable object, black and white, and other types of opposites.

Premieres at Australasian Quilt Convention – April 2020

SAQA Artists On Tour: An up close and personal view of art quilts! The 2017 Trunk Show has over 450 pieces travelling in 8 different trunks around the globe. Schedule a viewing at your location today!

Sponsored by Innova

Our lives are measured in seasons. Not just the familiar quarterly divisions of a year: spring, summer, fall and winter, but with each new day we move among a variety of seasons. Seasons are temporary markers of the passing of time, helping us transition naturally through the changes of our lives. Transitions in our personal lives can be seen through the seasons represented by age, health, attitude, status, hopes, dreams, or priorities.
 

SAQA’s Textile Posters brings together the familiarity of quilts with the equally familiar vernacular of posters to create a visually exciting, informative, and emotional exhibition. Selected pieces reflect the wide diversity of posters. What all have in common is an emblematic economy of text and imagery. Posters are meant to convey a message in the blink of an eye, be it to inform, educate, or persuade. It is that particular aesthetic consideration which characterizes these textile artworks.

Fiber art has a rich tradition of incorporating elements that would otherwise be discarded by turning them into compelling compositions. Repurposing materials is one of the most effective solutions to deal with today's environmentally devastating waste issues. Full of creative energy, Upcycle! offers artwork with intriguing details and unusual materials and will surely spark conversations from viewers.

Congratulations to all the artists selected for this opportunity! Once the new SAQA website goes live, No Limits will be the first Virtual Gallery on display. There are no limits on the type of work that can be shown virtually. For example, work that is very large or very small (including installations), contains complicated electronic components, cannot travel in a crate with other artwork, is too expensive to ship, or is otherwise not a good fit for a physical exhibit.