The Great New Zealand Quilt Show 2025

Great New Zealand Quilt Show, Christchurch, 16-18 May 2025

Entries

Information about entries to the GNZQS in May 2025 is now available. Conditions of Entry and the entry form are on the Aotearoa Quilters website.

Key changes to previous conditions of entry are:

• The artist’s statement is limited to 256 characters
• The name of both the maker and the quilter must be entered, even if this is the same
• The entry form now contains a declaration about copyright
• The entry fee is $20 per quilt
• All photos must to be in jpeg or jpg format
• A statement that the judges reserve the right to shift a quilt into another category
• The categories for quilt entries remain the same, that is Traditional, Contemporary, Modern, Art and Pictorial.

A change for the Judges Seminar and Judging at the GNZQS

Unfortunately, Jenny Bacon has advised that for health reasons, she will not be able to attend as the Judge for the GNZQS or Tutor for the Judges Seminar.

Fortunately, Brenda Gael Smith has agreed to come to New Zealand and judge the GNZQS and be the Tutor for the Judges Seminar. We are very grateful to Brenda for agreeing, especially at such late notice. Brenda is a very experienced judge and has provided us with the following bio.

Brenda Gael Smith grew up in Aotearoa and lives and creates on the land of the Darkinjung people at Copacabana, Australia. Brenda started out as a corporate and regulatory lawyer synthesising complex information, problem-solving and presenting elegant solutions. She brings these skills to her creative practice of art-making, exhibition administration, curating, judging, teaching and mentoring. Drawing upon 20 years of exhibition administration, and 5+ years as convenor of the QuiltNSW Judging Education Program, Brenda has reviewed thousands of quilts and has thought deeply about what makes a design work. She believes that developing an art vocabulary and critique skills are invaluable for artists in any medium.

Brenda has also independently curated several popular touring exhibitions including Living Colour and a matter of time that were shown in New Zealand. Her own artwork is exhibited internationally. She creates abstract textile paintings and sketches made from a rich palette of hand-dyed fabrics complemented by extensive, textural stitching demonstrating the transformative power of stitch. Her teaching focus is on colour, construction and composition for confidence-building and creative momentum.

Aotearoa members might also be interested in this video Brenda made about her role as Juror of Selection in Quilts Unlimited 2021 which includes some general tips for entering juried exhibitions.

Note that applications for the Judges Seminar have closed as the course is full.

More details will follow in time.

The Great New Zealand Quilt Show 2023 results are here.