SAQA Primal Forces: Fire
September 12, 2025 – December 2, 2025
Fire is the third and final component of SAQA’s elemental series, premiering at The National Quilt Museum. Previous exhibitions included Primal Forces: Earth and Primal Forces: Wind.
This exhibition explores fire not just as a destructive force, but as a symbol of renewal, power, and transformation. Many pieces address themes of climate change, deforestation, and the renewal that comes after devastation, adding a thoughtful and timely narrative to the visual feast.
Experience the heat of creativity as talented artists use vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and innovative techniques to capture the essence of fire. Whether you’re drawn to its energy, its danger, or its ability to spark new beginnings, this exhibition will ignite your senses and leave you inspired.
Forest on Fire by Birgitta Jadenfelt
Ancestral Flames by Deb Cashatt (image in header)
Firestorm 3 by Brian Dykhuizen
Ring of Fire by Diana S. Fox
About SAQA
Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt: “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.”
Their vision is that the art quilt is universally respected as a fine art medium. SAQA’s core values are: excellence, innovation, integrity, and inclusion. Over the past 35 years, SAQA has grown into a dynamic and active community of over 4,000 artists, curators, collectors, and art professionals located around the world.
Primal Forces: Fire Juror Nnenna Okore
Nnenna Okore is an artist-researcher-teacher who uses artistic practice, pedagogy, and social engagements to address ecological issues. As an internationally acclaimed art practitioner, Okore has been involved in numerous participatory art projects and exhibitions designed to produce dialogue, artmaking, and an awareness of current environmental issues. Working largely with eco-based materials, Okore uses food-based bioplastic materials to create delicate works of art that engender dialogue about waste reduction and sustainable practices in artmaking.
Okore has a B. A degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MA and MFA at the University of Iowa. Added to numerous national and international awards, Okore is a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award and Creative Victoria Creators Fund. Her works have been featured in major exhibitions at the Museum of Art and Design, NY; Museum of Contemporary African Diasporic Art, New York; Spelman Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta; Museu Afro Brasil, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, among others. Okore’s recent exhibitions include the Bruges Triennial Exhibition in Belgium and the Chengdu International Biennial in China.