Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum celebrates 25 years

Among its many gems, La Conner is home to a rare find, celebrating its silver anniversary this summer.

It is the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum, one of perhaps just a couple dozen of its kind in the entire country, and a major draw to town and its home base at historic Gaches Mansion on Second Street.

Ahead of its time when launched in 1997 as the La Conner Quilt Museum by initial director Rita Hupy, the gallery and gift shop is now perfectly aligned with the growing popularity of quilting and fiber artistry.

“There’s something about quilters that leads them to seek out museums,” notes current director Amy Green, now in her ninth year at the museum. “People expect to find art museums everywhere, but quilters know quilt museums are few and far between.”

Which makes the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum a true destination point.

Green estimates between 10,000 and 12,000 visitors descend upon Gaches Mansion each year to view thematic exhibits and partake in the museum’s various classes, lectures and special events.

Crafters who embraced quilting and fiber arts while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic are now eager to get out and see displays and exhibits.

“People are clamoring for it,” said Green.

This summer the museum has an exhibit devoted to the women’s suffrage movement, a group display from top Japanese quilters and a celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Contemporary Quilt Art Association, which began in the 1980s with a series of lectures in a quilt store attended by about 30 people.

An exhibit entitled “Tangled Fibers” opened last month and runs through the end of October.

Just around the corner is a “Silver Celebration,” an Aug. 31-Sept. 26 observance of the museum’s 25th anniversary.

In addition, the museum’s popular Fiber Friday program, which shifted to Zoom during the pandemic, remains both in-person and online, Green said.

Open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment Mondays and Tuesdays, the museum is staffed by a loyal corps of volunteers and weekend supervisor Sybil Jenson, whom Green said is a tireless champion on behalf of the museum and town.

“She deserves all the kudos she receives,” stressed Green. “She loves this building, the museum and the community. We’re lucky to have her. People love to hear the history she shares.”

The history of Gaches Mansion is a point of pride. Considered a jewel of Victorian architecture, it was built by George and Louisa Gaches as a family residence prior to their move to Seattle just after the turn of the 20th century. The mansion was subsequently used as a hospital and later as apartments until damaged by fire in 1973.

Following the blaze, concerned residents banded together as La Conner Landmarks to purchase the building and fundraise for its restoration.

Famed Northwest photographer Art Hupy, the husband of Rita Hupy, leased space in the mansion in the early 1980s for an art gallery that eventually morphed into the Valley Museum of Northwest Art, precursor to today’s Museum of Northwest Art on First Street.

The La Conner Quilt Museum landed 25 years ago at Gaches Mansion, purchased the building in 2005 and a dozen years later adopted its present name to reflect the museum’s broadening scope and regional reach.

For Green, who previously served a managerial role at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, directing a quilt and fiber arts museum here has been an ideal fit.

“This is my dream job,” she told the Weekly News. “I’d always wanted to manage a fiber arts museum and I love historic buildings.”

Green said visitors are often surprised at the quantity and variety of displays at a museum located in a town populated by under 1,000 people.

“The first reaction of some visitors is one of surprise,” she said. “They’re surprised by the number of pieces on the wall and the amount of fiber arts.”

But the word is getting out.

“We’re definitely getting a reputation out there,” said Green. “People know that when they’re here they’ll find great artists and exhibits.”

Green praised the work of those who came before her for establishing the reputation for quality enjoyed by the museum.

“I have a lot of respect for the history of this organization,” she said. “(Former director) Liz Theaker did an absolutely great job fundraising for capital projects.”

Green said there are several factors that contribute to the universal appeal of quilting, a key aspect of what brings so many people to Gaches Mansion.

“There are quilters all over the world. It’s something that carries on traditions. It also lends itself to creativity,” she said.

The museum stands out not only because of its array of exhibits and programs.

“We’re one of the few museums in the United States that has a pug for a mascot,” she chuckled. “There are a couple museums that have cats. But we have a pug. He’s mine, he takes care of me in the office, and he helps keep our spirits high.”