The International Honor Quilt (IHQ) is a collaborative, grassroots feminist art project initiated by Judy Chicago in 1980 "to extend the spirit of The Dinner Party" on its tour of venues throughout North America, Europe, and Australia. It consists of a collection of 542 individual quilts that can be assembled into a multi-sectional, monumental artwork. The panels, which utilize a wide variety of materials and techniques, have been made by different women or groups honoring and addressing individually selected women, women’s organizations or woman’s issues, to expand the number of women honored by Chicago's The Dinner Party.
The IHQ was gifted to the University of Louisville and its Hite Institute of Art and Design in October 2013 by Through the Flower (TTF), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 1978 by Judy Chicago.
In addition to the individual panels, the collection contains documentation about the makers, honorees, and techniques used. Panels were added to the quilt at each of the tour venues, beginning in 1980 and continuing through 1988. All of this information is available in the online collection database.
The collection may also be accessed by contacting the International Honor Quilt Collection, Hite Institute of Art and Design, University of Louisville, Lutz Hall, Rm 014, Louisville, KY 40292 or ihqinfo@louisville.edu and/or by making an appointment to visit the Quilt’s study center in the Hite’s Visual Resources Center, also in Lutz Hall.