We invite artists to submit their best work for display in the Now: Contemporary Art Quilts of Today gallery at Houston in 2025. This dynamic exhibition will provide an exceptional platform for your art quilt to be appreciated by a diverse audience, including art enthusiasts, collectors, and industry professionals.
Submission to this exciting showcase not only promises visibility but also offers an opportunity for your creations to find a new home. There is no theme for this exhibition - we invite you to submit the best work you are creating now.
The sole venue for this exhibition will be at Houston. All pieces should be for sale and will be available to buyers after the show ends.
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
International Quilt Festival, Houston Texas: October 2025 (Exact Dates TBD)
This is a single-venue exhibition - artwork will be returned by December 31, 2025.
ARTWORK REQUIREMENTS
Wall-hung (2D and 3D) pieces are eligible. No ceiling suspended or freestanding artwork.
- Pieces may not exceed 96” (8 ft) in height, width, or depth. There is NO minimum size.
- All artwork must fit through a standard 34” doorway.
- Wall-hung pieces (2D and 3D) must hang without distortion. Traditional quilt sleeves, stretcher bars, framed or mounted work, and other hanging mechanisms are acceptable.
- Artwork must meet SAQA’s definition of an art quilt: "a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure."
IMAGE REQUIREMENTS
It is critical that submitted images be of the best possible quality: in focus, with clear details, and following SAQA's digital image requirements. Read Tips for Successful Art Quilt Photography and Submitting Digital Images first!
- For each wall-hung 2D entry (depth is less than 2 inches), submit one full view front digital image and one detail digital image.
- Full-view images MUST show all the edges along with a small amount of background.
- Digital images must be saved as a high-quality JPEG or JPG file (No TIFF files). Do not use your name or initials in the filename (title is fine).
- Finished images should be at least 2100 pixels on the longest side (no maximum)
- Files should NOT exceed more than 12 MB per file
Common errors include:
- Images that are out of focus or too small
- Cropping images too closely on the full-view image. All edges of the artwork must be visible along with a small amount of contrasting background. Do NOT crop your photo into any part of the artwork as this may disqualify your entry.
- Your background should be neutral and not include distracting elements such as hands, floors, studio, pets, pins, etc.
ELIGIBILITY / FEE
Artists must be a current SAQA member to enter this call. $50 USD for up to 3 entries. $40 ($10 Early Bird Discount) if all entries submitted by January 15, 2025. Entry fee must be paid online before the entry deadline via a credit card or PayPal at www.saqa.com/fees.
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about this exhibition, please refer to SAQA’s Exhibition Guidelines and FAQs where many exhibition related questions are answered. If you have any further questions, please contact us at calls@saqa.art.
Artist notifications will be sent via email by March 31, 2025 (see Important Dates below for more details).
Submissions open January 1, 2025.
- January 1, 2025 - Online Entry Opens
- January 31, 2025 - Online Entry Deadline at 7pm Eastern Standard Time (GMT/UTC-5)
- March 31, 2025 - Notification of Acceptance via email
- May 31, 2025 - Artwork to be RECEIVED by SAQA (details provided upon acceptance)
- October 2025 - Exhibition Opens at International Quilt Festival Houston (single venue exhibition)
- December 31, 2025 - Artwork returned to artists
Sandra Sider, a past president of Studio Art Quilt Associates, recently retired after ten years as Curator for the Texas Quilt Museum. She edited Art Quilt Quarterly for six years, and has published numerous articles and books on fiber and textile art for more than three decades. A studio quilt artist since the late 1970s, she focuses on photographic processes in her work, embellished with surface design techniques, including hand embroidery. Her art quilts have been acquired by several museums and corporate collections.
She studied photography and printmaking in workshops at the School of Visual Arts (NYC) and Manhattan Graphics Center, and has an M.A. in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina. From 2019 through 2022, she taught the History of Textiles course for the MFA Textiles program at Parsons School of Design
For information on eligibility and policies, please refer to SAQA's Exhibition Guidelines and FAQs.
Jurying of the exhibition is by digital image. Information and resources for submitting digital images can be found on SAQA’s website, Digital Image Submission Guidelines.
For specific information on shipping for exhibitions, please refer to SAQA’s Shipping Guidelines. For non-U.S. members, please refer to Shipping Reimbursement (non-US members).
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
You will be asked to agree with these terms and conditions during the submission process.
“I agree to loan my artwork to Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. I understand the costs of insuring and shipping my artwork to the shipping center in Ohio are my responsibility. I further agree to permit the images or detail images and/or all or part of my artist statement to be used in the exhibition catalog, articles, ads, promotions, books, websites, blogs, CDs, current event news coverage, television productions, and/or multi-media productions for and about the exhibition or for and about the shows at which the exhibition may be seen.
I confirm that the artwork is of my original design and does not violate any copyright or trademark laws. If my quilt is based on any source material that was not made by me (including but not limited to artwork, photos, and AI generated images), I have altered that material sufficiently to make my quilt uniquely my own creation".
