An Ecology of Quilts

In spring 2027, the American Folk Art Museum is sending its acclaimed recent exhibition An Ecology of Quilts on tour to museums around the Northeast. Join the museum’s Deputy Director and Chief Curatorial Officer Dr. Emelie Gevalt for a behind-the-scenes look at how this ecologically grounded exhibition was conceived and organized. Emelie will consider the origins of textile production and how it informed the artistry of quiltmaking, exploring the environmental and social impact of cultivating and harvesting raw materials. She will also explore the rich botanical subjects that helped define this quintessential American art form.

About the Speaker

DR. EMELIE GEVALT is Deborah Davenport and Stewart Stender Deputy Director & Chief Curatorial & Program Officer at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. Her exhibitions at AFAM include the critically acclaimed What That Quilt Knows About Me (2023), Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North (2023), and An Ecology of Quilts: The Natural History of American Textiles (2025); her next project, Locating Girlhood: Place and Identity in Early American “Schoolgirl” Art, opens in fall 2026. Gevalt received her B.A. in art history and theater studies from Yale University, her M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and her Ph.D. in art history from the University of Delaware. Her two decades of art-world experience include positions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Christie’s, New York, where she was a Vice President in the Estates, Appraisals & Valuations department.