Ozquilt Network Newsletter #31 MARCH 1999

Reprinted with kind permission of the authors and the Canadian Quilters Association.

Should quilt judges be certified? That is the question Kay Phillips and myself wrestled with this past winter as we considered a request from Donna Nesbitt on behalf of the CQA/ACC. We were to develop a judging course leading to certification. The proposal was to include a suggested course outline, criteria and qualifications for certification and a list of experts. As well, we were asked to review the current entry form and make suggestions for any necessary changes in the requirements.

On March 31, 1996 I presented our recommendations to the Board of Directors meeting as follows:

Forego certification of judges.

Choose jurors & judges for CQA/ACC quilt competitions on the basis of reputation from experienced quilters, teachers or professionals in related fields.

Offer an open discussion panel with the show chairperson and judges at all CQA/ACC national juried shows.

Offer judging workshops at Quilt Canada conferences and make them available for CQA Days.

Maintain list of available judges including non quilters. (members note: suggest names or send in your own resume.

Write a procedural manual for juried shows with samples of all forms and the general entry rules and requirements (flexible enough to meet new needs) and sample critique forms.

Kay and I consulted with each other extensively; with judges, teachers and quilters, and with people from other craft and art disciplines. The advantage of certification seemed obvious: to identify individuals who have met professional qualifications to judge quilts.

The obstacles and cautions soon became apparent. The course would focus on professional skills and ethics. Artistic credentials or knowledge of workmanship skills would be considered to have been acquired already through experience and/or study. The danger exists that individuals could be certified for fulfilling the professional requirements although their aesthetic knowledge might be weak. In short, certification would confirm only that someone was fair and objective, not necessarily knowledgeable about quilts or design.

Other cautions include the risks of homogeneity or rigidity due to over-emphasis on acceptable standards. The possibility of deterring entries by innovative or non-traditional quilters exists because their creative spirit thrives on 'breaking the rules'. The true diversity of expression among quiltmakers might not be represented.

Insularity from other art/craft disciplines or from participation in global quilt trends is also a hazard. The danger that quilt show organizers would hire only Canadian certified judges would deprive quilters of the sensibility and valuable feedback from non-certified judges from other fields or countries. Isolation from the resulting cross-fertilization of ideas can hinder development.

It was interesting for Kay and I to discover that in other craft and art media the judges or jurors are chosen for the renown of their performance and experience. The Saskatchewan Arts Council used to have criteria but the lack of flexibility was considered a deterrent to people with a good eye and jurors constantly waived the necessity to use them.

Most of the American and international contests, except the National Quilting Association which does have a certification program, use judges chosen from among the teachers or local artists in order to keep travel expenses down. Relatively few of these individuals are NQA certified. To our knowledge only two or three Canadians have taken advantage of the NQA program during its long existence.

A financial observation is that due to Canada's small population base and vast size, any potential requirement to use certified judges could be expensive. In terms of energy, overseeing and constantly updating a certification program seems an extra load for the CQA/ACC Board, an already hard-working group of people.

At first, certification seemed, to Kay and me, life a terrific idea and one long overdue. After examining all its aspects we prefer to suggest leaving the system as it is, with-jurors and judges chosen from those with reputations for excellence and knowledge.

© Ann Bird and Kay Phillips 1996

Ann Bird is an experienced quilt judge and was winner of the 1989 Dorothy McMurdie Award for her contributions to quilting in Canada.

Kay Phillips, also an experienced quilt judge, was President of the CQA/ACC in 1985, received the Dorothy McMurdie teacher of the Year Award in 1992 and the Dorothy McMurdie Award in 1993.

Ann and Kay team-taught a workshop, "In My Judgement" at Quilt Canada '91 and continue to offer it individually and as a team.