The Dairy Barn Arts Center
International juried exhibition of contemporary quilt art exploring textile as a medium for material, conceptual, and political inquiry.
Quilt National '27 is the twenty-fourth international juried exhibition hosted by The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio, under the theme 'Quilts in the Expanded Field'. The exhibition celebrates textile-based contemporary art and fibre as a medium for material inquiry — showcasing works that interrogate surface, structure, labour, gender, and politics, and that reposition quiltmaking within contemporary art discourse.
What qualifies as a quilt?
Work must be predominantly fibre or fabric-like material, composed of at least two layers (a face layer and a backing), held together by stitches or other elements distributed throughout the surface. The face layer may be pieced, appliquéd, whole cloth, or stitched/fused to a foundation.
Eligibility
Open to all media — traditional and non-traditional genres and materials are welcome. The jury changes for each iteration of Quilt National and has no predisposition toward any particular style.
Judging criteria include originality, design, concept, technique, and craftsmanship. The process is a blind jury — jurors will not have access to any identifying information about artists. Approximately 80 artworks will be selected. Preliminary acceptance is based on digital image submissions; final acceptance follows physical inspection of the delivered artwork.
Entry fee
Submission requirements
AI policy: AI may be used to complement creative process but must not replace individual creativity or compromise artistic integrity.
Key dates:
Awards will be announced in mid-2026. Submission grants The Dairy Barn Arts Center rights to reproduce images for exhibition promotion; artists retain all copyright.
To submit time-based media, contact exhibitions@dairybarn.org.
