The Virginia Quilt Museum will celebrate its 30th anniversary on August 23, 2025. Standout Arts spoke with Executive Director Alicia Thomas to reflect on the museum’s history, her leadership, and the future of the institution.

Origins of the Museum

The museum traces its beginnings to the Virginia Consortium of Quilters and the Belle Grove Plantation. In the mid-1980s, the Consortium hosted statewide quilt evaluation days to create a record of historic quilts made in Virginia. “Out of that, a group started talking about how it would be really great if we had a way to preserve these quilts and make them accessible to the public,” Thomas explained.

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The Consortium began discussions with Belle Grove Plantation as a possible location for a quilt museum. While the museum was ultimately not housed there, the Belle Grove staff assisted with the legal paperwork needed to establish the Virginia Quilt Museum, which became official in early 1992.

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Between 1992 and 1995, the museum sought a permanent home. Under the leadership of its first Executive Director, Joan Knight, the museum secured the Warren Sipe House in Harrisonburg through an agreement with the City. The Virginia Quilt Museum officially opened on August 26, 1995. “At that point, the museum owned 14 quilts that they had been collecting since they had started,” Thomas said. “Thirty years later, we now have 305 quilts.”

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Today, the Virginia Quilt Museum remains the only museum in the Mid-Atlantic region solely dedicated to quilting. According to Thomas, “there are only ten to twelve museums that are dedicated solely to quilting.”

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What the Museum Offers

The museum’s collection spans more than 200 years. “Our oldest quilt is 1806 and our newest one is from 2017,” said Thomas. “We have everything from huge traditional bed quilts to small modern art quilt pieces.”

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Alongside its permanent collection, the museum hosts about ten exhibitions per year. These range from displays of its own quilts to traveling exhibits, solo shows, group presentations, or juried fiber art competitions. “We try really hard within our exhibit calendar to make sure we have a balance of traditional and contemporary quilts on display so that even the most casual visitor can see all of the things that a quilt can be,” Thomas shared. “So many people think of a quilt as primarily a bed covering. They have no idea that art quilts exist. It is really fun that in our 30th anniversary exhibit we have an art quilt that is hanging on the wall and very three dimensional. We are really pushing the boundaries of what a quilt can be.”

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Education and engagement are also central to the museum’s mission. Workshops, lectures, and classes are often tied to current exhibits. A recent fabric dyeing workshop, taught by an artist featured in a solo show, allowed participants to learn techniques firsthand. “We are the place where it is OK to be a really big nerd about quilts and fiber,” Thomas noted with a smile.

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One program Thomas is particularly proud of is the quilt evaluation days held several times per year. “People can bring in their quilts and I and an outside expert will look at them and tell them everything they want to know about them except for the value,” she explained. “A lot of times these are things that people have had in their families for generations and they just don’t know anything about them or how to care for them. We spend a lot of time in those meetings talking about what to do with the quilt so they can take care of their family heirloom as best as they can.”

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New Location and Future Projects

In the summer of 2024, the museum moved to its new home at the historic Silver Lake Mill. The new site provided improved accessibility and opened new doors for state and federal grant opportunities. “It allows us to tackle some really big projects,” Thomas said, with details to be announced later in 2025.

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Leadership and Background

Thomas came into the quilting world through her museum background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American History and a master’s degree in Public History. “While I don’t quilt myself, I’ve always really appreciated it because I grew up around it,” she said. “My mom quilted, my grandmother grew up around church group quilters, and my great grandmother quilted. So, I have a couple generations of my own family’s quilts. Happily, people in the museum were willing to step in and give me a crash course in all things quilting.”

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Upcoming Events

Two major events are on the horizon: the “No Boundaries” Fiber Exhibition and the museum’s 30th Birthday Bash.

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“No Boundaries” is a juried exhibition that invites artists to explore creative approaches to fiber art. Submissions open September 2 and close February 2, 2026. “We want people to push the boundaries and make really interesting things. Our only requirements are the size and that it has to be at least 25 percent fiber or fiber technique,” said Thomas. “Overall, the quality of the submissions just gets better every year and I am really excited to see what we get this year.”

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The 30th Birthday Bash will take place on August 23, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Admission is free. Visitors can enjoy live music from the Shenandoah Valley Ukulele Band, artist talks, homemade cake and ice cream, and a hands-on craft activity. “It is going to be a really fun day to come see us and celebrate our 30th anniversary with us,” Thomas said. “We are just going to have a party and celebrate the fact that we have been here for 30 years, which is no small feat for a small museum.”

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Learn More

For more information about the Virginia Quilt Museum and to view details about current and upcoming exhibits and events, visit vaquiltmuseum.org.