Quilts: 1700-2010

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has just opened its first exhibition of British quilts to rave reviews. The 65 pieces on view span 300 years and include new works specifically commissioned for the exhibit by contemporary artists.

Although most of us won't be able to travel to Great Britain to view it in person, there are still resources available to us online:

• Quilts: 1700-2010 About the Exhibition - "The exhibition [is] presented chronologically and thematically...[with] contemporary works...woven throughout following the themes: 'The Domestic Landscape', 'Private Thoughts, Public Debates', 'British Eccentricity', ' Making a Living' and 'Memory and Memorial'. Together the quilts document love, marriage, births, deaths, periods of intense patriotic fervour, regional and national identity and developments in taste and fashion."
  http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/textiles/quilts-1700-2010/exhibition/index.html
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• Quilts: 1700-2010 Exhibition Curator's Blog - This is a fascinating journal that allows us to be a "fly on the wall". It "...chart[s] the progress of the exhibition, providing an unique 'behind the scenes' look at a process which is both complex and challenging." Whether you start from the beginning or work your way through it backwards, you'll enjoy reading it.
  http://www.vam.ac.uk/things-to-do/blogs/quilts-hidden-histories-untold-stories/home
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• Quilts: 1700-2010 Videos - Along with the exhibition trailer, there are videos featuring the contemporary artists (Jo Budd, Caren Garfen, Diana Harrison and Susan Stockwell) discussing the pieces they created for the exhibition.
  http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/textiles/quilts-1700-2010/videos/index.html
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• Quilt of Quilts: Share your quilt's story with the world - This is an online exhibit of quilt pictures that anyone around the world can contribute to by uploading a picture of their quilt. It includes the ability for you to "Share your quilt's story and tell the world what it means to you. Your quilt can be commented on and rated by other site visitors."
  
  http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/
  
  

  NOTE: In light of the copyright issues we have been considering recently, you may want to consider this carefully before doing it.

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  Quilts and Quilting - The Strand, the BBC's  daily show on arts, culture and entertainment aired a 13-minute segment about how "...this artfrom has often taken it's inspiration from hardships and injustice." It includes interviews with the exhibit curator and with Gwendolyn Magee (me).
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/2010/03/100317_strand_quilts.shtml
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  Bloggers - A number of British bloggers were invited to a press preview. Sandra Wyman was one and has written a great report on her blog (with many pictures). Over the next week she intends to post at least two other segments to her blog.
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  Sandra Wyman, The Dyers Hand Blog
  http://thedyershand.blogspot.com/2010/03/quilts-1700-2010-at-v-part-one.html