Mt. Airy quilt show asks, 'Ain't I An Artist?'

“Why is it that women have trouble valuing their work?” wondered Mt. Airy Art Garage (MAAG) co-founder Linda Slodki. While art forms like sculpture and painting have enjoyed museum spotlights for centuries, quilts and similar textile arts did not enter the American fine art scene until the 1960s and '70s. Now, MAAG’s Art of the Quilt: Unfolding Our Stories juried quilt show takes another look at that legacy.

MAAG, a newly-rehabbed arts hub in Northwest Philadelphia that offers resident artist studios, class and gallery space, and a gift shop full of locally-made goods, has an avid Quilt Club, several quilting classes, and community “Quiltapalooza” sewing events. But Slodki said it was tough to convince members to submit their work for the show, juried by veteran quilter Sarah Bond and fiber artist Melissa Maddoni Haims.

Quilters worried that their pieces, many of which see daily use in the family home, weren’t worthy of a gallery show. But the final array of forty quilts, whose diverse techniques range from nine-patch piecework to fusible applique, embroidery, paper, and beads, mounts emerging artists alongside professional ones for a beautiful textile array.

And to celebrate International Women's Day, MAAG is hosting an interactive panel discussion titled "Ain't I An Artist?" on March 9. It will feature quilting, textile, fiber, and needlepoint artists and professors from across the region, who will explore the intersection of functionality and art.

Mt. Airy Art Garage’s Art of the Quilt: Unfolding Our Stories runs February 28 – April 25 (gallery hours Thursday – Saturday from 12-6pm and Sunday from 12-5pm) at 11 W. Mt. Airy Avenue, Philadelphia. For International Women’s Day, MAAG will host a night of music, performance, and a poetry slam on Saturday, March 8 at 6pm, with the “Ain’t I An Artist?” panel discussion ($10) on Sunday March 9 at 3pm. For more information, call 215-242-5074 or visit mtairyartgarage.org.