Missouri Bicentennial Quilt is making an appearance in Springfield
COLUMBIA, – Quilt blocks representing Springfield and communities across the state are featured in the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt, which will be on display for a final stop in the Greene County area at the State Historical Society of Missouri Springfield Research Center, Meyer Library, 3rd Floor, 850 S. John Q Hammons Parkway, on the Missouri State University campus. The quilt exhibition runs June 15 – July 29. A public reception for the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt will be held June 15 from 4-6 p.m. For the six-week exhibition, the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt will be exhibited during regular visiting hours at the SHSMO Springfield Research Center. In addition, selected photos of the My Missouri 2021 Photo exhibition will be on display with the quilt.
Using one block from each of Missouri’s 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis, the quilt showcases the diversity of Missouri’s culture, people and geography. To honor Missouri’s 200 years of statehood, the State Historical Society, Missouri Star Quilt Company and the Missouri State Quilters Guild teamed up to find quilters for each of the individual quilt blocks. Quilters from across the state submitted 6.5 x 6.5-inch blocks to represent the county where the live or have a connection. Over the winter of 2019-2020, Missouri Star Quilt Company stitched the blocks together and gave the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt its final look.
“Due to popular demand, we are excited to extend the tour of the Missouri Bicentennial Quilt into 2022 so more people can see it in their region before it is placed at the Missouri Quilt Museum,” said Beth Pike, Missouri Bicentennial coordinator for the State Historical Society of Missouri. “The quilt has brought many people together to tell a story of who we are and how we see ourselves and fellow Missourians in other counties. One of our goals for the bicentennial commemorations was to help start and continue that conversation across the state,” said Pike.
Once the exhibition at the SHSMO research centers ends in September 2022, the quilt will be on long-term loan at the Missouri Quilt Museum in Hamilton. The community is also home to the Missouri Star Quilt Company, which attracts tens of thousands of tourists each year to the small town in Caldwell County, northeast of Kansas City.
Upcoming Missouri Bicentennial Quilt Traveling Exhibition:
June 15-July 29 at SHSMO Springfield Research Center
Aug. 2-Sept. 15 at SHSMO Kansas City Research Center