A unique quilt show, produced by the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) of NM is on display at Macey Center until December 19, 2025.  There will be a reception, 6-7:30pm, on Friday, November 14, preceding the NMT Performing Arts Series concert by Scottish contemporary folk ensemble Breabach at 7:30pm at Macey Center on the NM Tech campus.  

Back by popular demand, SAQA of NM presents “Telephone Tag 2.0:  Perception and Interpretation.”  A total of 45 fiber artists from eight different SAQA regions were randomly sorted into nine group of five.  Each artist created four quilts based on the children’s game of Telephone Tag or Whisper, which involves a phrase whispered from one child to the next in a circle.  At the end, the phrase bears little or no relationship to the original words.  Telephone Tag 2.0 is a visual representation of that game, demonstrating the current discussion about individual perceptions and interpretations in human communication, whereby information sometimes takes divergent paths as it passes from one person to another through the filter of social media.

The process of Telephone Tag 2.0 began with an initial photograph sent by each member of a group to the next in the established rotation. That person had a month to create a quilt inspired by the image they received.  The first day of the next month, they sent an image of their quilt to the next person—the initial photo was not passed along.

Viewing the finished pieces together, remarkable differences among individuals are evident.  Some strings follow a fairly linear visual pathway, while others become greatly abstracted, sometimes veering in entirely different directions, often surprising, sometimes quizzical, but always insightful, creative and entertaining.

SAQA is an international organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt as “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched, or that references this form of stitched layered structure.”  www. Saqa.com for more information.