Conner Museum’s latest exhibit all about local quilts

Kingsville’s local museum, The Conner Museum, is featuring a new exhibit through March 13 – The Celebration of Quilts, all crafted by the Kingsville Saturday Quilters.

The quilt exhibit has been featured annually since 2001.

 “I came in 2007 and simply kept up the relationship and the tradition. The Celebration of Quilts is our museum’s most popular temporary exhibit,” Jonathan Plant, the museum’s director said.

The museum is located at 905 W. Santa Gertrudis Avenue.  The museum’s goal is to help preserve South Texas culture and history, while educating students and the community along the way.

Plant has been the museum’s director since 2013, but first arrived in 2007 as a curator. 

“It was a chance for me to get back to a museum setting, which is where I began my career. I love Texas History and South Texas is still very much a frontier area with amazing story material,” Plant said of deciding to come to Kingsville.

Local art in museums can help a community pull together by seeing beauty that was made within an area that might not have been known. The quilting exhibit does this.

Local communications student Fernando Mercado said while he’s not been to the exhibit in the past, it is nice to know it is available.

“I’ve never been to a quilt exhibit so I would be interested in seeing what Kingsville has to offer,” Mercado said.

Middle school teacher Lino Placencio said the exhibit can provide an opportunity to experience the work behind the quilts.

“I think students can learn the hard work that goes into it,” he said. “A simple picture from the internet doesn’t do it justice. It being in front of you can help get a sense of the hard work that was put into it. It also gives a better understanding of how it was created and what it was created with.”

The Conner Museum is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.