PSAD Partners with American Quilter's Society for QuiltWeek Exhibition

WKCTC MEDIA RELEASE: Paducah, KY (04/20/2017) — Paducah School of Art and Design (PSAD) is partnering with the American Quilter's Society (AQS) to present Made in Europe, an exhibition of 30 art quilts from makers in the Studio Art Quilt Association (SAQA) European and Middle Eastern Region.

The public is invited to a free opening reception for the exhibition April 26 from 5-7 p.m. in the Bill Ford Gallery, located in PSAD's 2D and Graphic Design Building, 905 Harrison Street.

Made in Europe is PSAD's first sanctioned collaboration with the AQS during its internationally renowned QuiltWeek in Paducah. Throughout the duration of QuiltWeek (April 26-29), PSAD and the Made in Europe exhibit are included as a stop on the shuttle bus tour of AQS activities. Attendees should access the building and gallery through the public entry on Harrison Street.

The art quilts show the wide variety of design and techniques used to make textiles in Europe and the Middle East. Many of the works are created using the makers own hand-dyed fabrics; others are hand painted and some incorporate digital images. There are whole cloth pieces, quilts which have been neatly pieced and others where makers have applied a rougher more patched look. Quilts are machine stitched, hand stitched, fused and embellished with yarns and beads.

The quilts selected for Made in Europe celebrate regional features - the mountainsides in Italy; England's green and pleasant land; birds in Sweden and local flowers in abundance. In others, abstract works reflect wintery walks on the shore, and thought-provoking designs in text convey their messages more directly.

"PSAD is delighted to be participating as an exhibition venue for this year's QuiltWeek," says PSAD Dean Paul Aho.

"With our move to Lower Town and the opening of the Bill Ford Gallery last year, we are for the first time positioned to be a part of the many events and attractions that make Paducah's QuiltWeek the American Quilter's Society's biggest event of the year. The exhibition also complements the development of our new fiber arts studio and community education programs at PSAD," said Aho.

Bill Ford Gallery hours during QuiltWeek are Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gallery hours from May 1 through May 18 are Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Paducah School of Art and Design, a division of West Kentucky Community and Technical College, offers an Associate in Fine Arts degree in Visual Art and an Associate in Applied Science degree and certificate programs in Visual Communication: Multimedia, as well as studio art classes for students of all levels and disciplines. Classes are offered on WKCTC's campus, 905 Harrison Street and 919 Madison Street.

For more information, call (270) 534.3901.

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West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has been recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 10 Community College each of the four times the Prize has been awarded by the Aspen Institute and has twice been named a Finalist With Distinction for providing students with strong job training and continuing higher education opportunity, for achieving high completion and transfer rates, and for providing strong employment results for its graduates.