The fifth Rijswijk Textile Biennial runs in the Netherlands till 24 September 2017. Twenty-four international artists are showing their fibre art. ‘Well-worn’ textile techniques like weaving, knitting and embroidery, combined with photography and digital processes, are used to express social and political themes, as well as personal stories. Powerful statements about oppression, terrorism, ageing and gender are wrapped in soft textiles. Art that poses questions. Questions that need not be answered right away. ‘Fabric’ for thought. Provocative knitted portraits of iconic female artists. Shocked facial expressions in response to terrorist attacks, captured in embroidered self-portraits. A metres-high tapestry that tells the story of protest, while having right at its centre a stray dog made famous by social media and choosing the side of the protestors. Politics and art, bound to each other by threads. Thread – that which literally binds. The installation Collective Strings in the garden of Museum Rijswijk will grow through the participation of visitors. Kilometres of colourful strings will take to the air, become entangled and create a transparent work of art. The public will do the performing, while the choreography is free-style. The Textile Biennials at Museum Rijswijk have grown into internationally renowned exhibitions in the world of fibre art.  This fifth biennial is no exception. The selected artists are at the forefront in their innovative uses of fibre and textile to express powerful messages with potent imagery. Kristina Aas & Karina Presttun (Norway), Maryam Ashkanian (Iran), Susanna Bauer (England), Renato Dib (Brazil), Jenni Dutton (England), Nigel Hurlstone (England), Henry Hussey (England), Daun Jeong (Korea), Kate Just (Australia), Alice Kettle (England), Rieko Koga (Japan/France), Karoline H Larsen (Denmark), June Lee (Korea), Tamar Mason (South Africa), Janaina Mello Landini (Brazil), Sophia Narrett (United States), Laima Oržekauskienė-Ore (Lithuania), Jon Riis (United States), Agnès Sébyleau (France), Hannalie Taute (South Africa), Cristiàn Velasco  (Chile), Murat Yildiz  (Turkey), Ji Seon Yoon (Korea). Read this Textile Forum Blog and review Image: Installation for the exhibition Rijswijk Textile Biennial 2017 by June Lee (Korea); photo Museum Rijswijk