As an East Coast transplant, I grew up going to the Brooklyn Museum. It was there I experienced how museums can be artist-centered and community-minded. After time spent in art roles at Yale Press, MoMA and the Robert Motherwell catalogue raisonné, I moved with my Wisconsin husband to Milwaukee to work at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. I distinctly recall during my first visit to Kohler being greeted by a 15-ft talking sock puppet. I was hooked. I learned a tremendous amount about creative exhibition-making from the singular Ruth Kohler.
In 2018 I joined the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts (WMQFA) as Senior Curator. WMQFA is one of only a few museums in the country dedicated to exhibiting, collecting, and educating the public about both traditional and contemporary fiber. We are known nationally for our curated exhibitions.
What I admire most about the arts in Milwaukee is the sense of camaraderie. That generous ethos permeates the fiber arts world as well. Fiber artists and organizations are supportive of each other in moving and inspiring ways. I feel fortunate to be a part of both communities.
WMQFA, specifically, benefits from an incredible network of artists, constituents, and volunteers, who are deeply committed to the museum’s mission. The museum started in the 1980s as a grassroots organization of women who documented quilts and quilt stories throughout Wisconsin. To date, volunteers have documented over 8,000 quilts. Additionally, WMQFA is the repository of an exceptional collection of more than 3,500 objects, among them nineteenth- and twentieth-century quilts, weavings, lace, and garments.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
As curator, I strive to take an expansive, interdisciplinary approach. One of my goals has been to promote Midwest artists by curating their work alongside their national and international peers. WMQFA has also sought partnerships with Wisconsin artists, institutions, and schools. We recently brought an artist into three schools to teach math concepts through quilt patterning. In May I am looking forward to co-curating an exhibition with Saint Kate Curator Samantha Timm on the intersection between contemporary film and fiber (opening at Saint Kate—The Arts Hotel on May 5).
WMQFA has been increasing its international scope. This spring we will welcome Akiko Ike from Japan for her first-ever solo museum exhibition in North America (May 18–August 28), and this fall, Quilt Nihon, an international quilting competition also from Japan, will be on exhibit.
Visit: wiquiltmuseum.com
Photo Credit: Erol Reyal
