The 3rd Tamworth Textile Triennial will open at Artisan in Queensland this Saturday February 23 at 2pm.
Held every three years, it will be curated by Sydney-based artist Glenn Barkley and will showcase textile art from more than 30 artists across the country.
Barkley has previously worked as senior curator of Museum of Contemporary Art.
Artisan CEO Claire Sourgnes said it was a great opportunity to showcase the diversity of textiles.
“The exhibition celebrates the diversity of textiles and true to its name, it embraces the process of creating, talking and exhibiting - with artists joining together with visitors as equal participants in an open house where all ideas and responses are welcome.”
Barkley explained that in recent years, there has been a global shift to handmade.
“Paradoxically, it has happened at a time when the screen has come to dominate everyone’s lives; when ‘downtime’ is the time spent waiting while we download a movie from the internet.
"That precious interlude has become a place for making.
“While the internet can dull the mind, it also enables us to make - or at least to see how to make - virtually anything, with YouTube art tutorials available in the comfort of our own home.
“lnstagram has made it possible for art and craftmakers to survive in a global marketplace.
"Something made in Newcastle can now be premiered online instantaneously to audiences from Paris to Hong Kong.
"For artists, this has led to an increased awareness both of the handmade and of the conceptual and social limits of craft production.”
Open House: Tamworth Textile Triennial will introduce a group of artists who have not previously exhibited in the triennial.