As the annual Studio Art Quilt Associates benefit auction begins later this month, on Friday 12th September, I’m continuing this series of posts about the membership advantages that I particularly value from among the wide range of resources offered by this organisation. In today’s post I focus on exhibition opportunities for artist members, because a big portion of the SAQA’s budget is taken by exhibition costs which include documentation, catalogues, gallery costs and transportation costs of the travelling exhibitions. Members pay entry fees, of course, but these are only a small portion of the overall costs.
Since the formation of SAQA in 1989, the core mission of has been to publicise the art form of the quilted textile, and one of the main ways the organisation does this is through the exhibition programs for members. As a result of this history of SAQA art quilt exhibitions, today, a portion of memberships are maintained by some gallery and museum directors and other patrons of the arts in addition to those of currently practising textile artists and traditional quiltmakers looking to explore traditional quilt making.
SAQA members come from many different backgrounds. Some have had formal art education, and many (like myself) have not, but we all are looking for self expression through making quilted textile art, and at some point for various reasons, artists look for avenues to show their art to the world in art via galleries, art fairs, group and solo exhibitions. Many of us find these opportunities long before we become SAQA members; but to a novice art quilt maker, taking this step for the fist time can be intimidating. Wherever members are on the experience spectrum, it is likely that at least occasionally most of us will take advantage of an opportunity to exhibit in a juried SAQA exhibition of some kind – because there are several avenues:
- Virtual online curated exhibitions – I have work in https://www.saqa.com/art/online-galleries/drawn-lines-saqa-virtual-gallery and https://www.saqa.com/art/online-galleries/below-surface-saqa-virtual-gallery
- Regional group exhibitions – https://www.saqa.com/art/saqa-exhibitions/regional-exhibitions these depend on activity in members’ different regions – I’m the Latin American and Caribbean region and an exhibition is being organised for 2026 in this region.
- Global exhibitions which start somewhere in the USA and travel to appear in gallery, museum and high profile quilt show venues for between 2-3 years.
The SAQA website https://www.saqa.com has a great deal of information, guidance and tips on the business of exhibiting, including approaching galleries and submitting applications, the essentials of good photography, writing appropriate statements, and the business side of handling pricing, publicity and sales.
Complete information about the upcoming SAQA Benefit Auction including how to bid – it’s all online, from anywere in the world, and you do not need to be a member of SAQA to take part! All works on offer can now be viewed at the above link. The auction opens with Diamond Day on Friday, September 12 at 2pm EDT (GMT/UTC-4, New York Time). On Diamond Day, any piece is available for $1,000; the first bidder wins. The rest of this reverse-price auction is divided into three sections, with a new section open each Monday:
Section 1: Sept 15 – Sept 21
Section 2: Sept 22 – Sept 28
Section 3: Sept 29 – Oct 5