Quilt House receives large gift for expansion, endowment

The thousands of guests from around the world who each year visit Quilt House now look forward to seeing even more inside thanks to planned expansion.

The thousands of guests from around the world who each year visit Quilt House, home to the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, now look forward to seeing even more inside thanks to planned expansion of the museum.

The Robert and Ardis James Foundation has made a $7 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation’s current Campaign for Nebraska for expansion of Quilt House on UNL’s East Campus at North 33rd and Holdrege streets in Lincoln.

The expansion will involve an addition on the west side of the building of about 12,400 square feet and will feature new gallery space for more exhibitions as well as additional room for quilt collection storage and care, education and museum operations.

About his gift and continued investment, Robert James said Quilt House is dedicated to the people of Nebraska, to quilt lovers and to those around the world who have helped recognize quilts as true art.

“It is helping the world comprehend a previously underappreciated form of art,” James said. “That’s what it’s done, and that’s what Ardis and I always had in mind.”

In addition to funding the expansion, the Robert and Ardis James Foundation donated $1 million to establish a permanent endowment at the University of Nebraska Foundation. Annual net income from the endowment will be used to provide a stipend to the executive director of Quilt House for salary, research or program support. The director will be known as the Ardis James Executive Director of Quilt House.

“Because of the vision and generosity of Bob and Ardis James, our university has become the most important place for the scholarly study, research and curated exhibition of quilts as an international art form,” said UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman. “We are extremely grateful for their support of Quilt House over the years and for making another important investment.”

Pat Crews, founding director of Quilt House, said the public’s interest in the museum, its exhibitions, educational offerings and unique mission continues to grow.

“Our guests have loved what they’ve been able to experience and learn here, but they’re eager to see even more,” Crews said. “With the new expansion, we’ll have additional room for our popular exhibitions as well as increased space for our diverse collections and research. We cannot thank the James family enough for making this possible.”

University facilities planning officials said construction of the building expansion will take place once architectural studies and designs are finalized later this year and construction bids are complete.

Quilt House opened its current 37,000-square-foot building in 2008 with three exhibition galleries and state-of-the-art textiles storage as an international focal point for the study, conservation and exhibition of quilts. The modern, environmentally friendly building was designed by world renowned Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York with local architects Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture of Omaha. The same architects will design the new addition.

The $12 million facility was privately funded with more than 260 contributions to the University of Nebraska Foundation, including a leadership gift from the Robert and Ardis James Foundation. More than 130 quilt guilds, as well as quilt organizations in six other countries, provided gifts toward the building campaign.

The International Quilt Study Center within Quilt House was founded in 1997 when Nebraska natives Ardis and Robert James began donating their extensive quilt collection and have since donated more than 1,000 quilts.

Ardis M. Butler James grew up in Lincoln and Omaha, Neb., and married Robert G. James of Ord, Neb., in 1949. They raised three children, Robert Jr., Catherine and Ralph, and made their home in Chappaqua, N.Y. Ardis James died on July 7, 2011.

Quilt House and the International Quilt Study Center, whose academic home is the Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design in the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences, offers the only academic program of its kind dedicated to inspiring an understanding of the cultural and artistic significance of quilts and promoting the scholarly study and research of global quiltmaking traditions. It holds the largest publicly owned collection of more than 3,500 quilts and is the most diverse collection in existence with representative quilts from more than 24 countries.

Quilt House, 1523 North 33rd Street, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $6 for adults (over 18); $3 for non-UNL students with ID and children; $12 for families (up to two adults with their children and grandchildren); free for children under 4, museum members, and UNL faculty, staff and students with ID. For more information, call 402-472-6459 or visit quiltstudy.org.

The University of Nebraska Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization raising private gifts to support the University of Nebraska for more than 75 years. In 2012, donors provided the university with $165 million for scholarships, medical and other research, academic programs, faculty and buildings. All foundation funds are donor designated. The foundation’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Campaign for Nebraska, has raised more than $1.2 billion for the university and concludes in 2014. For more information, visit campaignfornebraska.org.

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