The National Quilt Museum Presents Final Tour Stop for International Avant Garde Exhibition

Thirty quilts created for the Carrefour - The European Quilt Show’s 30th anniversary are on view in Paducah through December 1

PADUCAH, KY, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Thirty quilts from an international competition challenging artists to imagine the future of quiltmaking are now on view at The National Quilt Museum. The Carrefour European Quilt Show: Avant Garde exhibit continues through December 1, 2026, offering visitors the final opportunity to experience the traveling exhibition before the works return to their makers.

Created for the Carrefour European Quilt Show’s 30th anniversary in 2025, the Avant Garde competition asked artists to push their creative boundaries and consider where quiltmaking might go in the next 30 years. The resulting exhibition brings together individual responses to that challenge from artists around the world, including American quilt artist Betty Busby.

A Theme Looking Toward the Future
The anniversary theme grew from the organizers’ own responsibility to keep a long-running event fresh. Rather than look only at the show’s history, they invited artists to help shape its future through new work.

“For our 30th anniversary, Avant Garde challenged artists to create something new and imagine the future of quiltmaking,” said Marion Keller, the lead artistic program designer of the Carrefour European Quilt Show.

For visitors, that invitation opens a broader conversation about quilts as contemporary art: how artists build on textile traditions, experiment with design and technique, and develop ideas that move the medium forward.

Each year, the International Contest begins with a worldwide call for entries responding to a selected theme. Three jurors review photographs of the submissions and choose 30 works for the exhibition. The finalists debut at the Carrefour - The European Quilt Show in France before traveling together to museums, galleries and quilt events abroad.

From France to Paducah
Avant Garde premiered in France in September 2025 and subsequently traveled to South Korea, the United Kingdom and Australia before coming to the United States. Following a presentation at The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Ohio, the exhibition arrived at The National Quilt Museum for its final tour stop.

The exhibition also reflects a connection between European and American quilt traditions. Founded in 1995, the Carrefour European Quilt Show grew out of a 1993 gathering commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Amish movement, which began in the region around Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. Today, the annual event brings textile art to churches, historic buildings and other venues across four villages in France’s Alsace region.

Artists inspired by the exhibition can also explore Carrefour’s next International Contest. The 2027 theme, Girl Power, invites textile interpretations of women’s lives, achievements and agency, with room for both figurative and abstract approaches.

Plan Your Visit
The Carrefour European Quilt Show: Avant Garde exhibition is on view September 25 through December 1, 2026. The National Quilt Museum is located at 215 Jefferson Street in downtown Paducah, Kentucky. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For exhibition information, tickets and trip planning, visit quiltmuseum.org or call 270-442-8856.

About The National Quilt Museum
The National Quilt Museum is America's premier quilt museum, having received National Designation by congressional declaration in 2008. The Museum collects and presents the finest work made by today's quilters in America and worldwide. It provides national-class cultural services to diverse communities, both near and far, through exhibitions, educational programs, support of artists and tourism development. The Museum includes multiple galleries and an onsite gift shop.

Robin Malpass
The National Quilt Museum
+1 312-508-0228
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