Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum Welcomes UWG Community

Emma Swales

The Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum in Downtown Carrollton is expanding its reach to younger audiences and encourages students at the UWG to get involved with its diverse classes, camps and internship opportunities.

The museum, which is located at 306 Bradley St., recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and continues to grow in the Carrollton community. It houses three rooms that hold quilts and artist’s exhibits.

Along with these exhibits, the museum holds classes and camps that are available to the public. It features a free Stitch-In class, which is a beginner’s sewing group that is held every Thursday at 1 p.m.

Although The Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum has seen a wide range of members and students, its main demographic leans more toward retired citizens. Nancy Dombrowsky, Board Member and Education Committee Chair at the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum, explained her efforts toward creating a mutual partnership with the university in order to reach younger audiences and give students a chance to learn valuable skills.

“We are trying to do more outreach into the community by offering classes for kids and the adults here, but we haven’t really reached out to the university,” said Dombrowsky. “We are looking into doing that.”

Nathan Carnes, the Assistant Professor of Art: Ceramics and Art Foundations at UWG, recently collaborated with the museum. He sent over a group of his students to coordinate with the quilts that were hanging in the exhibit and to create an interpretation in some form of pottery.

“That venture with Nathan Carnes was probably the first that we have had with the University of West Georgia involvement,” said the Executive Director at Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum, JoAnne Browning.

Browning explained that some UWG students have come by the museum to study the exhibits and utilize the research library for graduate work. Current and former college students have also pursued internships and mentoring roles through the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum, providing UWG’s students with many job opportunities and resources.

“We have had interns for the last ten years from the university,” said Browning. “We have had students come in to hang and take down the exhibits and they have helped set up events we have hosted.”

The museum can be helpful for all students, not just art majors. They offer endless opportunities for student involvement and creative outreach. Students have the chance to learn new skills, be active in their community and extend their education.

“It’s a great experience for public history and art students,” said Browning. “We even had an intern that was taking some education classes in conjunction with her history courses. She got to work with and mentor some younger student groups here.”

Along with the internship and mentoring possibilities, the museum’s art classes can be very valuable. The beginner classes are open to the public and provide students with the material, space and tools needed to learn a new skill. The Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum offers beginner sewing, quilting, two levels of embroidering and other similar classes.

 “There is something really comforting about having a skill that you can take with you and work on and show your creativity,” said Dombrowsky. “I think it’s something that we offer here that’s very attainable and very doable.”

The Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum is open Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information on classes, memberships and exhibits, visit their website southeasternquiltandtextilemuseum.org, or their Instagram page @SQTMuseum.