The Event of a Thread

In textiles meet tradition and presence, art and craft do interact and local forms of knowledge meet global relationships. Personal and aesthetic stories intertwine with those about social and economic conditions. There is scarcely a region where textiles have not been inscribed into cultural and industrial history. Thus, a fabric also tells which materials and techniques migrated and evolved.

The focus of the ifa traveling exhibition is on textiles and the question of what meanings and messages they carry—what cultural significance they have—and how textiles can be 'read.' In textiles, tradition and the present, art and craft intersect, and local forms of knowledge meet global relationships. Personal and aesthetic stories intertwine with those about social and economic conditions in a globalized world. There is scarcely a region where textiles have not been intricately woven into cultural and industrial history. Thus, a fabric also tells about which materials became important when and where, how techniques and forms migrated, and how they evolved. The exhibition showcases the multifaceted approach of the invited artists to the properties of fabric and highlights, through their selection, both the transcultural dimension and the interweaving of the material with contemporary issues. The Bauhaus artist Anni Albers described in 1965 'the event of a thread' as something multilinear, with no beginning or end—a way to continually reconsider and restructure relationships and connections. This reordering perspective is embodied in the objects, installations, and video essays assembled in the exhibition. The works also demonstrate how textiles are connected with various aspects of our lives.