New England Quilt Museum

The New England Quilt Museum, founded in 1987, is located in downtown Lowell, Massachusetts and is the only institute in the Northeast solely dedicated to the art and craft of quilting. It is the second-oldest quilt museum in the United States.[2] It houses special and permanent exhibits, a library, a museum shop, and classrooms. Collections are strong in 19th century quilts, with a geographic focus on New England.[3]

New England Quilt Museum

Established	June 1987
Location	Lowell, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42.6454°N 71.3121°W
Type	Art museum
Key holdings	late 18th century to contemporary art quilts
Collections	Textile arts
Collection size	500
Visitors	6,000 / year [1]
Public transit access	Lowell MBTA Station
Nearest parking	National Historic Park lot (no charge)
Website	www.nequiltmuseum.org

History

The museum opened in 1987, and was founded and staffed by quiltmakers. It has been since its start committed to both craft and fine arts quilts, with exhibits and classes incorporating contemporary as well as traditional fiber arts approaches.[4]

The museum moved into its current space in 1994, after a flood in its previous building. The new space, the historic Lowell Institute for Savings building, gave the museum more room for exhibits, collection storage and preparation, classrooms, a museum shop, and events.[5] It is now part of the Lowell National Historical Park, which highlights Lowell's centrality to the 19th century textile trade and Industrial Revolution in the United States.[6]

Activities

In 2000, the museum founded the Lowell Quilt Festival, which has expanded to involve multiple partners across the city and region. IMAGES, a top juried show that began in 1983, is also part of the festival; entries are from across the United States and Canada.[7] The Lowell Quilt Festival was held for the last time in 2014.

MassQuilts, a volunteer-led statewide project to document the history of quilts, holds sessions at the museum the second Thursday of every month. Please call the Museum to make an appointment.[8] MassQuilts started in 1994, and has documented more than 7,000 quilts. Massachusetts, as an early colonial port, is important because fabrics from England and France were also incorporated into early quilts. MassQuilts has also developed traveling shows, exhibits for the museum, and Massachusetts Quilts, Our Common Wealth a university press book on the history of Massachusetts quilts, and exhibits for the museum.[9][10]

See also

• American Textile History Museum
• Lowell National Historical Park

References

1. Kost, Joel (2013-07-13). "Stitching together a new life for the New England Quilt Museum". Lowell Sun. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
2. Roberts, Elise Schebler (2007). The Quilt: a History and Celebration of an American Art. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-3785-1.
3. Danilov, V. J. (2005). Women and museums: A comprehensive guide. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
4. Lyon, David (1989). "The New England Quilt Museum". Fiberarts. 16 (3). Interweave Press. pp. 34–35.
5. "New England Quilt Museum set to open in new, larger space". Boston Globe. Boston, Mass., United States. 1993-07-11. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
6. "Lowell National Historical Park: Massachusetts". National Park Service. United States National Park Service. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
7. Tuttle, Nancye (2013-08-05). "Quilt Festival blankets Lowell with colorful fabric creations". Lowell Sun.
8. "MassQuilts Documentation". New England Quilt Museum. New England Quilt Museum. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
9. McQuaid, Cate (1999-03-18). "Piecing a story together In old quilts, The Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project finds the fabric of families' lives". Boston Globe. Boston, Mass., United States. ProQuest 405287190.
10. "The Project". Massachusetts Quilt Documentation Project. MassQuilts. Retrieved 7 December 2014.

Further reading

• Gilbert, Jennifer. (1999). The New England Quilt Museum quilts: Featuring the story of the mill girls : instructions for five heirloom quilts. Lafayette, Calif: C & T Pub.