Knots and Patterns 2026: Collective Memory Landscapes
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.
In the Slovenian research project, the sensory perception of textile production had largely disappeared due to the rapid closure and collapse of the textile industry. More challenging than anticipated, the team encountered practices of memory and identity erasure. The residency emphasized the importance of textile heritage as a carrier of collective memory, particularly in relation to underrepresented industrial histories and the lived experiences of workers, many of whom were women. The creative leads of the Tapestry of Tears were Armando D. Cosmos and Klara Debeljak, working in Kranj in collaboration with the BIEN Textile Art Biennial.
Three partners from Slovenia, Greece, and Poland explored the textile heritage of the regions in which they are based. On the basis of artist and research residency projects, two exhibitions were organised, presenting 26 textile and audiovisual artworks. In addition, the project developed a collaborative digital archive of local textile heritages, documenting the creative processes and presenting the outcomes through a digital storytelling tool.
Tapestry of Tears
Art and Research Residency in the Gorenjska Region
Authors: Armando D. Cosmos, Klara Debeljak, Teja Duhani, Lana Turnšek, Katja Kranjc, Luka Podgoršek, Kaja Rakušček, Sara Petrushevska, Ana Ferjanc, Dragan Hristov, Maria García,
Coordination: Zala Orel
Production: Carnica Institute - BIEN Textile Art Biennial
Partners: Museum of Gorenjska, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering University of Ljubljana, Center Rog, Arahne d.o.o.
Acknowledgments: Marička Rakovec, Dušan Peterc, Bojan Šibenik, Monika Rogelj, Margareta Volk Čalič, prof. Marija Jenko, prof. dr. Matejka Bizjak, izr. prof. mag. Katja Burger Kovič, doc. dr. Klara Kostajnšek, doc. mag. Arijana Gadžijev, asist. Kristi Komel, Uroš Topić
Video in Edit: Maša Pirc
Music: Wobbegong by TizTiz
Co-financiers: European Union, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
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