Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art: Barbican Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Textiles weave through our everyday lives yet remain one of the most underexamined mediums in art history. Opening in February 2024, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art will shine a light on contemporary artists who — drawn to the tactile processes of stitching, weaving, braiding, and knotting — have explored the transformative and subversive potential of textiles to challenge power structures, transgress boundaries, and reimagine the world around them.

Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art brings together over 100 artworks by a diverse range of international practitioners to examine the ways in which artists have embraced textiles to communicate multi-layered stories about lived experience, addressing gender, sexuality, colonialism, the movement and displacement of people, ancient forms of knowledge, and more. Spanning intimate hand-crafted works to large-scale sculptural installations, the exhibition presents works that are radical in their form and politics, revealing how textiles have been forces of resistance and repair. 

This exhibition is co-curated by the Barbican, London and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, where it will be on show from 14 September 2024 to 5 January 2025.

Participating artists: 

Pacita Abad (The Philippines), Magdalena Abakanowicz (Poland), Igshaan Adams (South Africa), Ghada Amer (Egypt/France), Arpilleristas (Chile), Mercedes Azpilicueta (Argentina), Yto Barrada (Morocco), Kevin Beasley (USA), Sanford Biggers (USA), Louise Bourgeois (France / USA), Diedrick Brackens (USA), Jagoda Buić (Croatia), Margarita Cabrera (Mexico / USA), Feliciano Centurión (Paraguay), Judy Chicago (USA), Myrlande Constant (Haiti), Cian Dayrit (The Philippines), Tracey Emin (UK), Jeffrey Gibson (USA), Antonio Jose Guzman and Iva Jankovic (The Netherlands / Panama and The Netherlands / Yugoslavia), Harmony Hammond (USA),  Sheila Hicks (USA), Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa), Yee I-Lann (Malaysia), Kimsooja (South Korea), Acaye Kerunen (Uganda), José Leonilson (Brazil), Tau Lewis (Canada), Ibrahim Mahama (Ghana), Teresa Margolles (Mexico), Georgina Maxim (Zimbabwe), Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (Poland), Mrinalini Mukherjee (India), Violeta Parra (Chile), Solange Pessoa (Brazil), Loretta Pettway (Gee’s Bend) (USA), Antonio Pichillá (Guatemala), Faith Ringgold (USA), LJ Roberts (USA), Zamthingla Ruivah (India), Hannah Ryggen (Norway), Tschabalala Self (USA), Yinka Shonibare CBE RA (UK), Mounira Al Solh (Lebanon), Angela Su (Hong Kong), Lenore Tawney (USA), T. Vinoja (Sri Lanka), Cecilia Vicuña (Chile), Billie Zangewa (Malawi / South Africa), and Sarah Zapata (Peru / USA).