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U.S. Embassy
Sponsors Quilt Exhibit
In Kyrgyzstan
For 19 days last fall, American quilts hung next to Kyrgyzstani quilts at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in "Connecting Cultures and Colors," an exhibit curated by Karen Musgrave of the Alliance for American Quilts. The exhibit, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy with support from the Central Asian Crafts Support Association, was the first to bring quilts from these two cultures together in one venue, according to Karen, and it showed how the two very different cultures share common threads. The exhibit catalog was published in three languages–English, Russian, and Kyrgyz. American artists whose work was featured in the exhibit include Scott Murkin, Yvonne Porcella, and Joan Schulze.
Kyrgyzstan is the fourth country in the former Soviet Union Karen has visited to exhibit and lecture about American quilts; in the spring of 2005, she curated an exhibit of Gee's Bend quilts that traveled to Georgia, Armenia, and Kazakhstan.
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Tushtuk, 98" x 75", 1960, by Aizada Satkeyeva of Kyrgyzstan, is stitched by hand and machine and is made of cotton, velvet, and silk.
Photo Courtesy Karen Musgrave
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