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Between threads and stories, textile art gains new expressions at Contextile in Guimarães
Until 29 23rd in November, a Contextile 2026 brings together artists and creators around textiles, crossing tradition, experimentation and sustainability. An edition that also gives a platform to new generations of designers and their proposals for the future of creation.
Guimarães even receives 29 November the 8th edition of Contextile – Contemporary Textile Art Biennial. Under the theme «By a Thread – By a Thread», This edition proposes a reflection on the fragility of today's world, interdependent relationships and the capacity for regeneration. The city transforms into a meeting space between artists, distributing the program across various cultural and urban spaces in Guimarães, with exhibitions, artistic residencies, performances, interventions in public space, workshops and conversations dedicated to textile art and culture.
One of the great highlights of this edition is the presence of Ai Weiwei as guest artist. Internationally recognized for his artistic work and the way he crosses art, society and political intervention, the artist presents three proposals developed in different locations in the city. «Fabrication», at the José de Guimarães International Arts Center (CIAJG), «Camouflage», at the Arts and Creativity Square, e «Net», in the Leather Tanks, are interventions that address issues such as surveillance, the protection of assets, collective memory and the vulnerability of the planet.
The International Exhibition remains one of the central centers of the Biennale. The call for this edition received 1.604 nominations of artists from 80 countries, total number of 2.036 works. The jury selection resulted 53 works, signed by 50 artists of 27 countries, who interpret the theme «By a Thread» through different materials, techniques and approaches to textile creation. A diversity of perspectives that demonstrates the ability of this discipline to dialogue with the issues of our time.
The program also opens up space for other perspectives on the relationship between art, matter and society. At the exhibition «A Change in the Weather? Material Storytelling in an Age of Uncertainty», curated by Janis Jefferies, five international artists explore textiles as a material and vehicle to build narratives about the present, in a context marked by uncertainty and environmental challenges.
The connection to territory and sustainability gains particular expression in «Weaving the Green – Tecer o Verde», developed in partnership with Guimarães European Green Capital 2026. Through artistic residencies and interventions in public space, the project brings contemporary textile creation closer to the industry, of the traditions and raw materials of the region, inviting artists to explore new relationships between art, nature and community.
It is also in this desire to bring creation closer, knowledge and experimentation that we find «Emergencies – Artistic Education and Textile Creation». The initiative invites art schools with disciplines linked to the textile universe to involve their students in processes of creation and reflection, giving them space to express critical positions through their artistic manifestations. More than a display of academic works, «Emergencies» affirms textiles as a tool for imagination and reflection on social transformations. Bringing artistic education closer to research and innovation, the initiative reinforces the role of the Biennale as a learning space, sharing and discovering new possibilities for textile creation.
Among the participating institutions is the University of Beira Interior (UBI), whose Fashion Design students present a collective installation composed of 17 handmade pieces made from waste from the clothing industry. The project was developed within the scope of the Sustainability in Fashion curricular unit, during the second year of the degree, under the curatorship and creative direction of teachers Aline Monçores , Yoad Luxembourg.
The challenge given to students was to create wearable panels, exploring the potential of discarded materials through artisanal techniques and ecodesign approaches. The result is an installation that takes the form of a suspended maze, where the pieces are situated between the tapestry and the garment, evoking the memory of the human body and the vulnerability that permeates the theme of this edition. The wires that extend across the floor outline what the authors describe as a nervous system, creating a spatial experience that invites the visitor to walk through the different pieces and reflect on contemporary crises. The use of textile waste adds a particularly relevant dimension to the project, showing how materials discarded by industry can find new paths through creativity and experimentation.
The installation can be visited at IDEGUI – Guimarães Design Institute, space that hosts the exhibition «Emergencies», with works by students from eight Portuguese artistic education institutions.
Another proposal that deserves attention is «Growing House», a Fiber Media Lab project, curated by Assadour Markarov and developed with students from the China Academy of Art, em Hangzhou. Inspired by the idea of home as a place of shelter and security, the installation builds a labyrinthine space using weaving, knitting, knots and collage. A structure in permanent transformation that invites contemplation and proposes a reflection on how we inhabit and relate to the world.
Throughout the Biennale, the different exhibitions and artistic interventions intersect with a program of conversations and activities that promotes dialogue between artists, researchers and professionals from different areas. The relationship between art and sustainability, textile production techniques and experimentation with natural materials and dyes are some of the issues that have marked this edition.
A Contextile 2026 takes place in Guimarães until 29 23rd in November. The complete program, exhibition locations and visiting times can be found at official site of the Biennale.
