Master of Arts Administration alumna founds Athens Quilt Trail project with skills learned in MAA, MFA programs
April 2026
Caroline Murphy, MAA ’25, MFA ’26, applied lessons from her coursework to a real-world setting through the Athens Quilt Trail project.
When Caroline Murphy first came to OHIO, it was to complete an MFA in graphic design. Soon after, she decided to concurrently pursue an MAA degree to gain administrative skills to support her artistic career. While she said pursuing both degrees was a lot of work, it was “definitely worth it.”
“I think (the arts administration) classes were some of the most valuable to me, truly and honestly,” she said.
While enrolled in MAA classes, Murphy began to do research to support the proposal of a project she envisioned: the Athens Quilt Trail.
“I used the MAA to do all the research, do all the justification, get the grants, do that side of it. Then, I used my MFA classes to do the art side of it: “What’s the art side of this? What’s the part that people would really like and enjoy about this side of things?”
Murphy received partial funding for the project through the I. Hollis Parry/Ann Parry Billman Fine Arts Graduate Award and received additional funding through the Ohio University Original Work Award and a Mid Atlantic Arts grant. In total, Murphy received $6,250 to support the development of the Athens Quilt Trail.
The premise of the Athens Quilt Trail is simple: Murphy wanted to engage the Athens community through art and display the work of participants in a community-focused exhibition. She partnered with local businesses to create collaborative art pieces with prizes for participation and found a venue for not only a short-term exhibition, but for long-term display of locally made artworks.
Murphy said she was inspired by Appalachian quilt barns — a now-widespread art movement started by Donna Sue Groves — and the cultural tourism born out of these traditions.
“It’s a really cool way to connect rural communities and build resiliency through tourism and financial means,” she explained.
Since its conception, the project has garnered interest from community members and from local media, including a feature article in local publication The Athens Independent.
For Murphy, the dual degrees have given her perspective into working not only as an arts administrator but embodying the concept of the artist-administrator.
“You can be realistic in your projects and be like ‘I want this outcome,’ but in order to have this outcome, I have to have some money. To get money, I’m doing x, y and z,” she explained.
Ultimately, the MAA program played a key role in providing Murphy with the skills she sought to found the Athens Quilt Trail.
“I don’t think I could have done (the Athens Quilt Trail) without the knowledge that I got from the MAA. It really shaped everything in a way that felt a lot more tangible,” she said.
Murphy will have a chance to continue combining all that she learned from her degrees as she steps into the full-time role of Development and Communications Coordinator at The Garden for All in Columbus, Ohio.