The Quilt Collection is composed of more than 330 quilts and quilt-related textiles, with examples from the late 18th to early 21st century. The collection is among the most exhibited, researched, and utilized at the Museum, and is the spotlight of the much-anticipated exhibition, Stitches in Time. Quilts pose challenges in care and conservation. Their size and composition require the use of acid-free boxes and tissue to store them, ensuring they remain in the best possible condition. Will you help us preserve this nationally significant collection? The Adopt-a-Quilt program allows you to symbolically adopt a quilt by making a gift in one of three tiers: • Gold Hoop quilts are $500. • Silver Hoop quilts are $300. • Bronze Hoop quilts are $150. To see a list of quilts available in each tier, click here. Gifts may be made as one-time gifts or in installments. You are also welcome to co-adopt by making a smaller gift (less than $150), which will be combined with other smaller gifts into a co-adoption of one quilt. Your gift directly benefits the collection. In recognition, you will see your name on the quilt's online and in-exhibit labels, and get an adoption certificate. Best of all, you get the warm fuzzy feeling of helping preserve these quilts and their stories for future generations.
Your support will help us secure boxes, tissue, and labels for our Quilt Rehousing project, which is underway during 2023 and 2024. Partially funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), this project is ensuring that our entire Historic Quilts collection is rehoused in a new storage space that is secured yet highly accessible to Museum staff, WKU faculty and students, and independent researchers. Any remaining funds are deposited to our Collections Endowment, which is utilized solely for the long-term care and conservation of our collections, including the quilts. These funds help hire professional conservators to assess, clean, and repair objects - such as the quilts seen in Stitches in Time; are used to match federal grants for major conservation or rehousing projects; and are used to purchase new boxes, tissues, and other supplies that keep our collections protected and preserved when not on view.
Check out this video that was researched and created by WKU graduate student Chloe Paddack ('23). The video relates quilts to a work by folk artist Joan Dance, all from our collections, that together tell the stories of African American women in Kentucky.