Museums in the United States are grounded in the tradition of public service. They are organized as public trusts, holding their collections as a benefit for the community they represent and serve. As a result, a museum collection is more than an amassment of works: it is a living document constantly rewriting itself as new sensibilities and values emerge to shape collective consciousness.

Like a quilt created by sewing together fabric shapes according to a pattern, a museum collection is created by following collecting ‘patterns,’ the guiding principles for the acquisition of works of art deemed significant. Like a quilt, a collection is only as ‘good’ as it is used or displayed. Unlike a quilt, which once sewn together is completed, a museum permanent collection is a ‘work in progress’, whose collecting and interpretative patterns are subject to reassessment. In other words, a collection is only as significant as the pattern can be reworked’, taken apart at the seams, to add new elements—new works—that expand representation and grow appreciation of the cultural geographies and artistic narratives of the region.

Since its founding in 1981, the Museum of Northwest Art has collected art created by artists of the Northwest region. MoNA’s permanent collection now includes over 2,400 artworks, ranging across all media and spanning from the early 20th century to the present. Like the Museum of Northwest Art, the permanent collection is positioned at the seam between past and present, between co-existing cultural areas, and between the different artistic sensibilities and values that art embodies over time. At the Seam: The Museum of Northwest Art’s Permanent Collection is an ongoing engagement with the collection as the place of contact for the many artistic identities of the region. The exhibition asks to look not only at the individual works but also at the ‘seams,’ where works representing different artistic trends and cultural identities come in touch with each other. When they come in contact, these works tell stories of coexistence, contrast, and difference within the social fabric of the Northwest region, past and present.

As a work in progress, At the Seam: The Museum of Northwest Art’s Permanent Collection will progressively change over the course of the year so as to provide insight on the breadth of the collection and highlight its role as a reflection of and resource for the Northwest community.