The Alliance for American Quilts is a non-profit organization founded in 1993 to unite the varied elements of the quilt world around a shared vision. This vision recognizes quilts not only as works of art, but as pieces of history with stories to be documented and preserved.

Quilt making has been practiced by Americans for more than two centuries and today quilts old and new continue to touch American lives, disregarding economic, ethnic, and other differences. Not just Americans, but millions of people around the world are making quilts, including a body of highly accomplished contemporary artists who have chosen quilt making as their medium. The quilting community has become increasingly international and interdisciplinary with extremely varied interests.

The systematic study, collection, and exhibition of quilts, and public education about quilts and quilt makers, have a tremendous potential to advance the understanding of American history and society and to introduce a new generation to the richness of expression embodied in the quilt. The impetus behind The Alliance and the concept of The Center For The Quilt is the pressing need to document and preserve the stories, documents, and ephemera of the 20th century quilt revival, and the need for more comprehensive and unified access to quilt information and quilt materials. Although various museums and libraries scattered in different parts of the United States devote some or all of their resources to specific aspects of quilts and quilt making, the large and growing body of information about quilts and their cultural and historical importance is diffused and not easily accessible to the general public today. 

A Brief History of The Alliance for American Quilts

The need to centralize information about quilts and quiltmaking was recognized by four women whose efforts led to the development of The Alliance for American Quilts. This project drew together Shelly Zegart and Eunice Ray of The Kentucky Quilt Project, and Karey Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant, corporate officers of Quilts, Inc. and founders of the non-profit Texas Quilt Search. The Alliance's founders had long experience and dedication to quilts, and a record of shaping the quilt industry and quilt scholarship in this country. The Kentucky Quilt Project began in 1981 to develop scholarship, publications, and exhibitions about quilts and their creators and founded the state quilt project movement. Quilts, Inc. has been the primary catalyst behind the development of the international quilt industry and has worked for more than 20 years to foster the public appreciation of contemporary and historical quilts in many countries.

The Alliance's founders soon gathered a distinguished group of quilt scholars and practitioners to develop a vision for gathering and coordinating the great body of information about quilts, making it accessible to a variety of users, and facilitating its interpretation through programs that tap the full potential of quilts to inform the study and understanding of history, the arts, and culture. Many of these original visionaries continue to work together to advance the projects and programs of The Alliance through their membership on The Alliance Board of Directors.

In its short history, The Alliance has made significant progress toward its goals - it has launched a series of partnerships and projects that are doing the job of preserving, documenting, and sharing the stories of quilts and quilt makers - The Quilt Index, H-Quilts, Quilters' S.O.S.-Save Our Stories, Boxes Under the Bed™, Quilt Treasures, Regional Centers for The Quilt, and more. That The Alliance is able to move forward so rapidly and effectively is a testament to the many individuals and organizations that have worked with quilts and quilt study for more than 30 years. Organizations such as the American International Quilt Association, the American Quilter's Society, the American Quilt Study Group, the National Quilting Association, state and regional quilt documentation projects, various grassroots guilds and associations, and others have developed a critical mass of interest, information, and resources that will all support the vision of The Alliance for American Quilts.

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