Threaded Together

In Conversation features some of the biggest names in modern quilting from Australia and beyond. Curator Tara Glastonbury was inspired by the ability of social media to give artists access to ideas, opportunities and peers in a direct and immediate way – leading to connections and collaborations that would not have been possible in the past. For many, the online community has led to discovering a whole new genre of art-making and large groups of people with shared textile interests – a revelation for those who have worked in isolation. With this in mind, Tara invited a group of fellow Australian artists to engage in a quilt dialog with an international artist they first connected with online. Each pair then developed an approach ‘in conversation’ – exchanging materials, celebrating a shared love, building on similarities in style, or meeting in person to create together. This exhibition is the result of these conversations. To give more people the opportunity to be involved Tara did a callout for submissions for mini quilts with the same theme. Artists were asked to use their online quilt conversations and influences as the basis for a quilt 40cm x 40cm in size. Eighteen of the quilts entered are traveling as part of the show. The countries now represented in the exhibition include Australia, USA, UK, India, South Africa, Canada and Switzerland.