Award-winning Japanese quilts exhibit June 19-July 19 at quilt museum

Quilts from the most prestigious quilt competition in Japan will be on display at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln June 19-July 19. Seventeen winning entries from international contestants were chosen for "Quilt Japan: Selections from the Ninth Quilt Nihon Exhibition."

The Quilt Nihon Exhibition is the oldest and most prestigious quilt competition in Japan. For each of the nine competitions held so far, a diverse international panel of jurors has selected the winning entries based on consideration of the fresh interpretation of traditional designs or the artistic accomplishment of the studio quilt maker. The contest is organized by the Japan Handicraft Instructors' Association and was founded to propel the creativity and technical accomplishment of Japanese quilt makers. The 1975 exhibition in Tokyo and Kyoto of American quilts from the collection of Jonathan Holstein -- including Amish and other late-19th and early-20th century quilts now part of the IQSC collection -- marked the beginning of American influence on Japanese quilt making. Today millions of Japanese embrace quilt making enthusiastically.

In addition to the main exhibition, which includes outstanding quilts made by entrants from all around the world, eight other quilts will be exhibited in the museum's Education Gallery, each selected as representative of some of the best of mainstream contemporary Japanese quilt making inspired by traditional quilt designs.

The Japan Handicraft Instructors' Association is that country's largest publishing and educational organization devoted to crafts. The association was founded in 1968 by Tadanobu Seto, and the patchwork division was formed in 1988. The association provides training and certifies the skill of Japanese instructors in quilt making and other craft forms. UNL's International Quilt Study Center has become an annual destination for classes of Japanese quilt instructors who travel to the states to study with well-known American quilt makers.

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 1523 N. 33rd St., was founded in 1997 and is the home of the largest publicly held quilt collection in the world. The museum opened in its new location in 2008. The privately funded, glass and brick "green" building houses more than 3,000 quilts, as well as state-of-the-art research and storage space, and custom-crafted galleries. The facility enhances the center's ability to pursue its mission to collect, preserve, study, exhibit and promote discovery of quilts and quilt making traditions from many cultures, countries and times.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays, including July 4. Docent-led tours begin at 11 a.m. Wednesdays and 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturdays. Reserved guided tours for groups of 10 or more are available during public hours. Please schedule at least four weeks in advance. Call 472-6579 or e-mail iqsc-tours@unlnotes.unl.edu. Admission is $5 for adults (over 18); $3 for non-UNL students with ID and children; $10 for families; free for children under 5, museum members, and UNL faculty, staff and students with ID. For more information, call 472-6459 or visit www.quiltstudy.org. The International Quilt Study Center is an academic program of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design in the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences.

The links below are to color JPEG images of quilts in the Quilt Nihon Exhibition.