Saturday, February 6, 2010

SAQA Studio Art Quilt Association

SAQA's Mission and Goals


Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development and documentation. Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now boasts over 2,400 members: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors.
SAQA defines an art quilt as a contemporary artwork exploring and expressing aesthetic concerns common to the whole range of visual arts: painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture, which retains, through materials or technique, a clear relationship to the folk art quilt from which it descends.

SAQA's mission is to:

Publish a newsletter and e.Bulletin addressing the professional needs of the working quilt artist.
Publicize information about the art quilt through a web site, Professional Artist Member portfolios, and referrals to teachers and speakers for workshops and symposia.
Educate through a series of conferences and lectures.
Create a network of collectors, dealers and artists.
Produce quality exhibitions, with documentary catalogues and critical reviews.
Encourage critical writing, research and publication of articles about art quilts in the art press, popular press and scholarly journals.

OUTER BANKS LOCAL ARTIST NETWORK

Here on the Outer Banks I have a meeting set up for February 17th at 7 pm at Kill Devil Hills Library.
It is for the Outer Banks Local Artist Network. I am hoping to establish this as a support group for all local artists those who are working artists, those who want to be , or those who just want to associate with other artists for critique and socialization. The other goals are to develop exhibits, weekly or bi weekly shows during the summer , where part of the money raised will go to a local charity and the rest raised will be put in a fund to develop the Outer Banks Art Center.

The Outer Banks has such an amazing variety of artists in every medium , but there is no focal point where it is easy to work with each other in the real purpose to showcase what we do to all around us and to the tourists visit every summer. Eventually the Outer Banks Art Center will be located in a building and we will offer Art and Mixed Media classes on a walk in basis much as I did with Ocean Beads Gallery and the Free Jewelry making and beadwork classes. This will be a opportunity for artists to develop teaching credentials in their medium, exposing people to their mediums and allowing them to decide if it is something they want to pursue.