Press release beträffande Festival of Quilts 2019
PRESS RELEASE: 15 March 2019
Michael James, India Flint and the International Quilt Study Center to headline The Festival of Quilts
US art quilter Michael James, eco dyer India Flint and the International Quilt Study Center & Museum are to headline this year’s The Festival of Quilts at the NEC Birmingham.
Michael James will present Constructed Textiles New and Recent, a collection of work made since 2006 when he introduced Festival audiences to his exploration of digital textile printing. The artist has continued to use electronic media to create singular visual imagery that supports his “investigations of the emotional and psychological undercurrents that flow continuously within us”. This new exhibition includes work from Michael’s most recent series, India Through Beginners’ Eyes, which documents his experience as a first-time traveller to India.
Australian artist India Flint’s work combines installation, printing, painting, drawing, writing and sculpture and is deeply rooted in the land where she lives. Her exhibition, incomplete journeys, will be a collection of pieced, layered and printed textiles that, in the artist’s words, “might be considered maps or soft paintings, pieces of place or a series of laments for places of peace; landscapes written into cloth using leaves, water and time.”
Traditional quilters are sure to enjoy the exhibition of Baltimore Album Quilts from the International Quilt Study Center & Museum, Nebraska. These unique quilts are a regional variation of floral appliqué that developed between 1845 and 1854 in Baltimore, Maryland. Album quilts were often created and gifted to people at meaningful stages of life and shared at social events.
There will also be exhibitions by Eszter Bornemisza, Karina Thompson and many more artists and groups from all over the world.
The 2019 Festival will host its biggest workshop programme ever, with over 400 classes on offer and YouTube sensation Jenny Doan from Missouri Quilt Co. will be flying in to host an exclusive live daily ‘trunk show’. The Quilters’ Guild will mark its 40th anniversary year with a celebration dinner featuring after-dinner speaker, Michael James.
Over 750 competition quilts will be on display at the NEC, including entries for the new Vlieseline Fine Art Textiles Award which replaces the Fine Art Quilt Masters competition. The new award is an international juried exhibition recognising the talents and skills of a broader community of textile artists. The Festival of Quilts competition will also have two new awards which recognise the skills associated with hand quilting and long arm quilting, plus an updated definition for the Modern Quilt category.
Competition entries must be submitted by 31st May 2019. Entry forms, category criteria, competition rules and key information are available on the Quilt Competition page of The Festival of Quilts website (www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk).
Tickets for The Festival of Quilts 2019 go on sale to members of the Quilters Guild on Monday 8th April and to the general public on 15th April at www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk or by calling 0844 858 6749. Advance tickets are£16.50 (VIP tickets £42.00, concessions £15.00) with a wide selection of options available. A £1.95 fulfilment fee applies per transaction.
