19th Century Blues: The AQSG Quilt Challenge
January 13 through April 11, 2026
The American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) is a membership organization that provides opportunities for quiltmakers, enthusiasts, collectors and academics to study, research and publish findings that advance the knowledge of quilts and related subjects.
For this exhibition, participants were challenged to select a nineteenth-century quilt that fit specific guidelines, and then create a smaller replica, interpreting the elements of the original quilt in a new and fresh way. The intended goal is for the quiltmakers to research the assigned topic in general and their chosen study quilt in particular. Twenty-five of the fifty quilts made for this challenge were selected by AQSG to travel nationally. The NEQM Genre Gallery features these creative and meticulous quilts accompanied by photographs of the original inspiration quilts, personal statements about what the quiltmakers learned during the process, and their reflections on the original quilts that inspired them.
