“Aloft” SAQA Global Exhibitions

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt, “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.”

Founded in 1989, SAQA now has over 3,700 members worldwide: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators, and art quilt enthusiasts…

Aloft will debut at AQS QuiltWeek in Daytona Beach, Florida, February 26-29, 2020. The current schedule for the exhibition follows: Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 25-28; Paducah, Kentucky, April 22-25; and the Quilt Festival in Long Beach, California, July 9-11, 2020.

Mary Edna was honored to jury 36 art quilts for the traveling Aloft SAQA Global Exhibition. In excerpt from her juror’s essay:

“The Wall Street Journal estimates there are now over 21 million quilters in the United States alone, yet stitching together layers of padding and fabric dates back to ancient times. A linen example that was found in a Mongolian cave is on display at the Russian Academy of Sciences. The innovation and quality of the art quilts in SAQA’s Aloft exhibition represent a respected modern movement in surface design…

My mother and grandmother were quilters. As a working textile artist, my batiks on silk have not always been selected for competitions, but I never take this to heart. Everyone is a individual with distinct preferences. The joy of making is a gift we share.”