Some of the works on display in the Art Quilt Exhibition, which opens on Wednesday, July 16th.

The Saginaw Art Museum reopens its doors to welcome visitors into a newly renovated and rejuvenated space, hung with the best of its 2,000-piece collection, nearly 100 pieces of which have been conserved in the recent floor-to-ceiling overhaul of the space. Deputy Director and Assistant Curator Ryan Kaltenbach informed me that much of the collection was donated by the Booth family, original owner-operators of the Saginaw News.

The special kick-off collection is “What a Stitch!” an art quilt exhibition organized by JNKS, a highly prolific and active quilting guild (or “quild,” as they call it) and juried by JNKS member Janna Getzin. The show includes entries from all over the region. Hailing from Detroit, a piece titled “Ghosts of the Pacific Northwest” – a collaborative effort between artist and sculptor Addie Langford and fiber artist (and intrepid Knight Arts blogger) Sarah Rose Sharp – is one of the largest works on display.

Detail from “Ghosts of the Pacific Northwest,” by Addie Langford and Sarah Rose Sharp.

Twenty-one talented artists from across the state of Michigan showcase 45 handcrafted art quilts, each an original design, in the 2014 Art Quilt Exhibition. Multiple techniques and media combine to create these pieces  of art, including applique, beading, dyeing and fusing. The show will open with a reception and artist talk from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16 and run through September 6th. Juror Janna Getzin is providing a free lecture on art quilting beginning at 4 p.m.; it’s open to the public.

If your summertime travels take you into northern Michigan, keep the Saginaw Art Museum in mind as a beautiful place to take a break from the road, check out the newly refurbished space and collection, and marvel at the work of some of the region’s most accomplished quilters.

Saginaw Art Museum: 1126 N. Michigan Ave., Saginaw; 989-754-2491; saginawartmuseum.org