Slovenia | Knots and Patterns 2026 exhibition
Until 8 May 2026, the exhibition ‘Knots and Patterns 2026: Collective Memory Landscapes’ will be held in Kranj, Slovenia. The exhibition showcases three research-artistic projects on textile heritage of Greece, Poland, and Slovenia, alongside a digital archive.
The exhibition Collective Memory Landscapes marks a milestone of the EU funded project Knots and Patterns, in which three partners from Slovenia, Greece, and Poland explored the textile heritage of the regions in which they are based. In addition to the exhibition, presenting 26 textile and audiovisual artworks, the project has developed a collaborative digital archive of local textile heritages, documenting the creative processes and presenting the outcomes through a digital storytelling tool.
Across three art and research residencies, the project focused on textile heritage as a living carrier of collective memory, shaped through social relations, situated knowledge, and sensory experience. While each context addressed distinct historical and cultural conditions, the shared inquiry revolved around how textile practices transmit memory, identity, sustainable practices and values through both dis/continuity and trans/formation.
This is presented within the context of the BIEN Textile Art Biennial, which is becoming a platform dedicated to presenting textile art through exhibitions, residencies, and research projects even in the years when the biennial itself is not taking place. In this way, the connections between Kranj, the Gorenjska region, and the international space will be further strengthened until the next edition of the biennial in 2027.
In addition to this exhibition, there are Spring Textile Workshops in Kranj until June, an exhibition from British artist Claire Wellesley-Smith from 28 May to 3 June 2026, and the handbook ReThread – Self-care and community care through textiles and nature, which forms part of the WellBIEN platform within the BIEN Textile Art Biennial.