This exhibition is presented in partnership with The Quilt Shop.

Quilt National '05 is the fourteenth in the series of international juried competitions dedicated to promoting the contemporary quilt as an art form. For more than 24 years, Quilt National has showcased the most exciting and innovative trends in the medium. The exhibition's jurors have selected approximately 85 works that represent unique approaches to the quilting medium and that demonstrate the breadth and diversity of contemporary expressions in quilting.

Developed to demonstrate the transformations taking place in the world of quilting, Quilt National carries the definition of quilting beyond its traditional parameters, even as it displays a reverence for the lessons taught by the makers of heritage quilts. Many of the works hold fast to the traditional methods of piecing and patching, while also accepting a challenge to expand the boundaries of traditional quiltmaking by utilizing the newest materials and technologies. "Tools and technologies were being developed that had the potential to create previously impossible effects," says Quilt National Project Director Hilary Morrow Fletcher. "The new generation of sewing machines, color xerography, and readily available fabric paint and dyes presented challenges to which this new breed of quilt maker responded with gusto."

In addition to new methods and materials, contemporary quilting is undergoing another transformation. "Fewer and fewer of today's innovative quilts are updated interpretations of classic quilt formats," says Ms. Fletcher. "The subject matter of the quilt, be it a personal memory or an artist's statement about a political or social issue, appears to be increasingly important. Today's artists view their quilts as a means of expressing their creative energies in ways that are simply not possible with other materials. They are expanding and adding to the rich vocabulary of the heritage quiltmaker and they are transforming color and texture into dynamic patterns that provide new visual experiences.

"There is no question that the art form has been enhanced by thousands of quiltmakers making personal journeys through explorations of color, shape, and line. I feel quite confident that through the continued creative efforts of the world's quiltmakers, the art quilt as we know it, will continue to evolve and enrich the lives of an ever widening circle of appreciative viewers."

Quilt National '05 is a touring exhibition, produced and circulated by the Dairy Barn Southeastern Ohio Cultural Arts Center, a not-for-profit organization established in 1978 in Athens, Ohio, and dedicated to producing programs that feature both traditional and contemporary arts.