Arts Council to host 'Seeing Stars' quilt exhibition

Beginning Aug. 6, the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau will host the work of the region’s best quilters in its exhibition “Seeing Stars: 2021 Regional Quilt Exhibition.”

“Seeing Stars” was developed to demonstrate the talent, skill and diversity of quilt makers in the area, according to Kelly Downes, the art council’s director.

The exhibition will feature the work of 10 artists from throughout the five-state region of Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Any quilters in the region 18 or older were eligible to submit their work to the exhibition.

Quilts designed with a theme of stars were given preferred selection by the exhibition’s juror, Rachael Baar. Baar is the curator of the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.

Downes said she became enamored with quilting after watching a documentary on quilters in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. A group of African American women and their ancestors have created quilts in the town for decades.

After watching the documentary on the Gee’s Bend quilters, Downes said she wanted to hold a quilting exhibition at the arts council.

“There’s a meeting of form and function when it comes to quilting that’s just mind-blowing,” Downes said. “It’s clear how much love goes into making them.”

Artists featured in the exhibition include Marjorie Suedekum, a multimedia artist and former Southeast Missourian employee.

The arts council will host an opening reception for “Seeing Stars: 2021 Regional Quilt Expedition” 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 6 at 16 N. Spanish St. in downtown Cape Girardeau. The show will remain on display through Aug. 28.

Galleries at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.