Let's talk about those "Statement Quilts" (5 of 6)

 

Hanging Sculpture at the Raleigh Convention Center

Since the close of QuiltCon 2026, I’ve been tuning in to the flurry of responses and reactions on social media to the "statement quilts" in the show. There were quite a few this year and there have been some very effective reels that lift up their messages in unique ways. These mini films have been well constructed and effective.

There has also been some push back questioning the suitability of what amounts to social commentary in the realm of the quilt show and calling out the Modern Quilt Guild for giving creators the platform to share their ideas. This has given rise to some really thoughtful and cogent responses from quilt content creators in support of the voices that were showcased and QuiltCon.

The arguments in support of the modern quilt movement have been so well done, by stronger voices than mine, that their points don’t need to be rehashed here. But I would like to add my response to the whole unfoldment of these events, . . .

Yeah!!!!! 

Modern quilting has entered the arena of art in the consciousness of the general public!!!! 

Not in a soft, subversive way, but in an authentic, bold, exciting manner that energizes and instigates dialogue!  

The French writer, Émile Zola, is quoted as saying: “If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live out loud.”

No matter the medium, painters, musicians, writers, and (yes, even) quilters have always responded to the world around them. Throughout history they have been the canary in the coal mine, the conscience of the culture, the forecasters of the future. Artists of all stripes are thinkers and “influencers.”

Modern quilting is a movement, like a movement in art. Not everyone “gets it.” There is always push back from people who think they know what an art form should look like. History is filled with stories of audiences scandalized by opening night, critics declaring a unique perspective in painting, sculpture, etc., was not “art”, listeners unsettled by a novel piece of music, readers outraged to the point of book banning.  

And artists are not above using the "personal affront" as a device to get people to think.