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ABOUT SAQA
Believing in the need to establish a place for art quilts in the world
of contemporary fine art, in 1989 Yvonne Porcella sent out 50 letters
to artists and friends to rally them to her cause. And so Studio Art
Quilt Associates (SAQA) was born.
The vision was to create an organization to:
- Promote art quilts to major art publications, museums, and galleries
- Educate the public about art quilts
- Serve as a forum for the professional development of quilt artists
- Act as a resource for curators, dealers, consultants, teachers, students, and collectors
In early 1990, with seed money and a commitment of volunteer time from
the initial group of members, a non-profit corporation was formed and a
seven-member board of directors selected.
A membership brochure was created and sent out in May of 1990. The loan
used to pay for the brochure and mailing was completely repaid with the
dues from all of the resulting new members.
Soon a newsletter was developed to keep members informed about activities, opportunities, and resources for career development.
A professional artist member category was established to provide
artists with the opportunity to be included in a portfolio program.
Portfolios were designed to present the work of the professional artist
members to galleries, collectors, art directors, consultants, magazine,
and other venues.
Volunteer regional representatives spread the word about SAQA and as
membership grew, regional exhibits were organized to showcase the work
of artist members. Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas were the location of
some of these exhibits.
In 1992, SAQA established an Art in Public Places registry to document
the installation of art quilts hung in corporations, institutions, and
public agencies across the country. The purpose of this registry was to
increase market awareness of art quilts as desirable works of art. The
registry list is long (200+) and continues to grow.
A registry of art quilts in permanent museum collections was also
begun. Its purpose was to document the validation and acceptance of the
art quilt as a legitimate art form in the art world arena.
Art quilts are now part of collections in museums such as the:
- American Craft Museum, New York, New York
- Missoula Museum of the Arts, Missoula, Montana
- Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
- High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia
- Muse ArtColle, Sergines, France
- Museum of the State of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
In 1993, SAQA and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art sponsored a
symposium that featured speakers such as Miriam Schapiro, museum
curators, conservationists, collectors, and artists.
In 1995, the first SAQA conference was held at Arrowmont School of Arts
& Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This 3-day conference included
creativity-based classes, a national juried exhibit, and lectures. The
exhibit, Diversity!, went on to tour the United States of America under
the banner of Eastern Washington University. A boxed postcard-style
catalog of the exhibit was published, and C&T Publishing
distributed it.
1995 also saw the hiring of Cathie Rasmussen as the first Executive Director of SAQA.
Between 1995 and 2000, several 1-day conferences were held in
conjunction with art quilt exhibits and events such as Quilt National
and Quilt Festival.
In 2000, a multi-day conference was held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The
national juried exhibit, Exit/Entrance, was held in the rotunda of the
state capital. This exhibit was documented in a small catalog published
and distributed by SAQA.
Katie Pasquini-Masopust was sworn in as President of SAQA at the 2000
conference. Under her guidance and inspiration, SAQA membership
has doubled and regional group activity has increased.
The SAQA website (www.saqa.com) was developed to provide visibility to
the accomplishments of the artist members through the professional
artist member gallery pages, museum collections gallery, and the Art in
Public Places gallery. It also gave members immediate access to
information about exhibit opportunities, announcements of upcoming
events and conferences, and other resources.
In 2004, two SAQA national juried exhibits, Uncommon Threads and
Changing Definitions: The Art Quilt, hung at the Arkansas Art Museum
and Arkansas Historical Museum in Little Rock Arkansas.
Today, with an ever-increasing membership, SAQA is gearing up to
broaden the audience for art quilts even further. And just as
important, under the leadership of the current Executive Director,
Martha Sielman, SAQA seeks to become an even greater resource and
advocate for all of the SAQA membership.
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