2020 Quilt Exhibits
Enjoy Our Full Quilt Exhibits From the Comfort of Your Home!
Using a special 3-D camera, our team set up and captured video and photos of this year’s quilt exhibits. Click on any exhibit below to enjoy an immersive and interactive walk-through of the exhibits with access to high resolution images, detailed information about each quilt, and video interviews with select quilters who share the stories behind their quilts.
10-Category Juried and Judged Quilt Contest
Quilters of all levels were invited to enter a maximum of four quilts into this exciting contest. Prizes are awarded in each category, as well as to the Best of Show and Viewers’ Choice quilts.
Botanical Quilt Challenge
Each year, The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show hosts a themed challenge. This year’s quilts all incorporate a botanical theme. Enjoy a glimpse of spring splendor that’s sure to inspire next year’s garden!
Download/View the 2020 Botanical Quilt Challenge Winners (PDF)
Modern Mini Quilt Challenge
Enjoy this collection of mini quilts with a modern twist! Featuring quilts from The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show’s 2020 Modern Mini Quilt Challenge, which received nearly 100 entries from across the U.S. All quilts in this exhibit — from quarantine-inspired creations to optical illusions — measure 24” square or less.
Kids’ Quilt Challenge
Be wowed by the amazing creations from youth quilters ages 15 and under! This annual contest is sponsored by Nancy Zieman Productions. Prizes are awarded for first through third place.
Social Justice Sewing Academy: Youth Expression Through Fiber
This exhibit features 11 community quilts from the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA). SJSA aims to elevate youth voices and encourage expression through art. Students work collectively to craft textile blocks that speak to issues of personal importance to form a larger community quilt. Volunteers help with embroidery, as well as piecing and long-arm quilting the tops.
Quilted Photography Art Quilts: Tammie Bowser
View this stunning collection of quilted photography from international award-winning art quilter Tammie Bowser.
Georgia O’Keeffe Challenge: Prairie Heritage Quilters
A year ago, a wall quilt challenge was put out for all quilters who wanted to participate and create a 24” x 24” quilt using one of two featured Georgia O’Keeffe challenge fabrics, along with three category options: Cityscapes, Southwest Landscapes and Flowers. Twenty-four participants from across the country took up the challenge. Quilts came from as far away as South Dakota, Kentucky and Arkansas and will be exhibited at the next Prairie Heritage Quilt Show in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.
Bob Ross Challenge: Cherrywood Hand-Dyed Fabrics
“The Joy of Painting” aired on PBS for eleven years with its iconic host, Bob Ross. His soft-spoken, encouraging words and unique brand have infiltrated modern pop culture and he continues to teach oil painting to a new generation of admirers. Cherrywood Fabrics challenged artists to use just eight colors to create an original 20-inch art quilt inspired by Bob Ross. The juried exhibit includes an abundance of techniques, themes and creativity, all using hand-dyed fabric from Cherrywood.
This exhibit is no longer available.
Behind the Scenes: Set-Up for the Virtual Quilt Exhibits
Using a special 3-D camera, our team set up and captured video and photos of this year’s quilt exhibits to create an immersive and interactive walkthrough. We’re so thankful for the 76 socially-distanced and masked volunteers who worked a combined 340 hours to bring the exhibits to life! After hanging the quilts, the PBS Wisconsin team used a Matterport 360 camera to scan the exhibits every 3-6 feet – a process that took more than 9 hours! From there, our team added high-resolution photos, detailed information about each quilt and video interviews with select quilters who share the stories behind their quilts.
Nancy Zieman 4-H Virtual Community Quilt
In celebration of the upcoming premiere of the PBS Wisconsin documentary, Nancy Zieman: Extraordinary Grace, we invited quilters and sewists to upload a 6-1/2-inch fiber art square or quilt block, along with a statement detailing how Nancy Zieman and/or 4-H directed their fiber arts journey or career path. You can also scroll through and read stories from participants across the country whose lives have been impacted by Nancy Zieman and/or 4-H.
It’s not too late to contribute to the virtual community quilt! Share your fiber art square or quilt block and statement here.
Contest Sponsors
Download the 2020 guide