National Quilt Museum

Don’t expect to see quaint quilts of yesteryear at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. That’s because the museum’s focus is on contemporary quilts that have been made by artists from across the United States and around the world since 1980. 

Inside the spacious museum, visitors can explore ever-changing displays of some of the nearly 700 quilts from the institution’s permanent collection, as well as themed temporary exhibits that have traveled from other locations. The exhibits are swapped out frequently, so it’s possible to visit the National Quilt Museum multiple times each year and see different creations adorning the gallery walls each time.

Visitors can expect to see quilts depicting woodlands and rural scenes that resemble photographs or those sporting abstract designs that focus on geometric shapes and bold graphic elements. Pieces in the museum’s permanent collection represent an array of the best of contemporary quilting spanning a range of styles and techniques.

Stand back far enough and the individual quilts may well resemble paintings or works of art one would expect to find at a fine art museum. Quilt-makers often use materials such as buttons, beads, lace, paint, embroidery and microfilm to bring contemporary artworks to life by way of needle and thread rather than paint on a canvas. 

Since the museum opened in 1991, nearly a million visitors from all 50 states and 40 other countries have made their way to Paducah, which now has become so associated with fabric arts that it calls itself Quilt City. The American Quilters Society even holds its annual QuiltWeek in Paducah, featuring classes, lectures and vendors, not to mention thousands of quilts on display. (This year’s event happens April 23 through 26.) 215 Jefferson St., Paducah, Kentucky 42001, 270/442-8856, quiltmuseum.org