Yes, I found out a couple of years ago that this show- Quilt National that is put on every other year was started by a group as a venue for art quilts. Some are very different and strange. But there are also very beautiful ones. Several years ago when I first went there was a landscape that looked like you were walking on a path in a forest on an autumn day. I hadn't gone for several years, but did go the last two times. Last time (in 2009) I went a quilt was a portrait of a woman's mother done in yo-yos and from across the room it looked like a painting. Another person did a piece about 24" by 48" of pieced blocks about an inch big made from scrap fabric that looked like a building. But there are entries from everywhere, including other countries. I can definitely understand that if one didn't know they are art quilts how it would be disappointing. But there are some gems too.
Even numbered years the Dairy Barn tries to have an exhibit of traditional quilts, but it isn't always all summer. It might only be a month, and maybe not in the summer. Last summer they exhibited a collection of antique Amish quilts. It was very nice to see.