Quilt center symposium April 26-27 to explore context, meaning

            Quilts hold myriad meanings, a theme that will be explored in the International Quilt Study Center and Museum's sixth biennial symposium April 26-27 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Quilts In Context: The Making of Meaning" will offer attendees an understanding of the circumstances and settings in which quilts were made and used.

            "By examining American quilts in their shared contexts within their domestic settings, juxtaposed with fashionable dress and furnishings of the periods, symposium participants will gain a deeper understanding of the people who made, used and cherished quilts for the past 200 years," said Patricia Crews, Willa Cather professor of textiles and IQSCM director.

            The symposium program will feature tie-ins to museum exhibitions, including "Posing With Patchwork: Quilts in Photographs, 1855-1955" and "Perfecting the Past: Colonial Revival Quilts."

            Invited speakers include:

• Lynne Bassett, an independent scholar specializing in New England's historic costume and textiles. Formerly curator of textiles at Old Sturbridge Village, she is the author of several award-winning books, including "Northern Comfort: New England’s Early Quilts, 1780-1850" from the collection of Old Sturbridge Village museum and "Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth." In each book she uses quilts to provide a window through which to view the history of the state or region, telling stories of international trade and domestic manufacture, national politics and neighborly discourse. Her latest book is "Homefront and Battlefield: Quilts & Context in the Civil War."
• Linda Eaton, the John L. and Marjorie P. McGraw director of collections and senior curator of textiles at Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, the ancestral home of Henry Francis du Pont in Wilmington, Del. She also teaches in the University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation. She is the author of "Quilts in a Material World," which presents Winterthur's renowned collection of early nineteenth century quilts. She vividly describes how the economics and politics of the time affected quilt materials and design in the new republic.
• Joan Severa, curator emeritus of costume at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Severa is the author of several books, including "My Likeness Taken" and "Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900," which garnered the prestigious Davenport Award from the Costume Society of America. She provides graphic evidence that ordinary Americans, when dressed in their finest attire, appeared very much the same as their wealthier neighbors. Yet subtle clues when carefully read betray their economic circumstances. Her books provide extensive information for understanding the social history and material culture of 19th century America.

            In addition, special presentations and tours will be provided by Janet Finley, author of "Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955: A 100-Year Photographic History," and Don Beld, founder of the Home of the Brave Quilt Project, a group of volunteers who make quilts for families of fallen service members -- quilts inspired by those made during the American Civil War.

            Attendees will participate in curator-led tours of the latest exhibitions and a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum.

            The symposium will be conducted at the museum, 1523 N. 33rd St. Registration fees are $125 for museum members and $170 for non-members. Fees cover all lectures, tours, special sessions, an informal fashion show featuring designs by UNL apparel design students, receptions, coffee breaks and luncheons. Visit http://www.quiltstudy.org/education_research/symposium for registration and information.

            The International Quilt Study Center and Museum 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 3,500 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 quiltmaking traditions from many cultures, countries and times.

            The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $6 for adults (over 18); $3 for non-UNL students with ID and children; $12 for families (up to two adults with their children and grandchildren); free for children under 4, museum members, and UNL faculty, staff and students with ID. Docent-led tours are free with admission begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Friday, and Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. A variety of other tour options are available. For more information, call 402-472-6459 or visit http://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.

Writer: Laura Chapman