NOTE: OUR CALL FOR OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENTAL
INSTALLATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL FEB 29.
OUR CALL FOR FOR PROPOSALS ENDS MARCH 31.
Four Calls for Submissions:
Common Thread International Exhibitions
1) Artwork and Interior Gallery Installations (DEADLINE PASSED)
2) Outside Environmental Installations (DEADLINE EXTENDED FEB 29)
3) “Fibre Inspired” Exhibition (DEADLINE PASSED)
4) Proposals for Independent Projects (DEADLINE MARCH 31)
All Submission Entries will be confirmed in due course.
Four Calls for Submissions:
Common Thread International Exhibitions
1) Artwork and Interior Gallery Installations
2) Outside Environmental Installations
3) “Fibre Inspired” Exhibition
4) Proposals for Independent Projects
Facebook Invite for Four Calls for Submissions
Next Festival
Oakville: Nov. 2 - 18, 2012
Toronto: Nov. 9- 25, 2012
Questions
First check our Frequently Asked Questions.
Email: dawne@worldofthreadsfestival.com
Updates: Join our Contact List
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Festival Background
The World of Threads Festival is a leading international showcase of contemporary fibre art. We are a not-for-profit initiative with charitable status run by dedicated volunteers. We believe that some of the most exciting and compelling artwork being made today is happening in the field of fibre arts. Through our initiatives we have discovered some remarkable artists and brought them to the attention of Canadian and international audiences.
The World of Threads Festival is ambitious and constantly expanding into new territory. We began in Oakville, Ontario in 1994 as a single exhibition. We then expanded to become a full festival. The last festival in 2009 featured 14 exhibitions, 215 submissions, with 190+ artists from 15 countries and 8 Canadian provinces. The Common Thread exhibitions were the main featured shows. We invited artists from around the world to submit. These juried exhibitions featured a large variety of work exhibited throughout Oakville.
Our website has become a central hub for lovers of fibre art with our Weekly Fibre Artist Interviews series. To date we have conducted over 50 interviews with Canadian and international artists and have published 38 so far. We encourage you to spend some time on our website to see what we have done in the past. For some examples of previous artists, look under Artist Interviews or Artwork. Please keep in mind that our website currently only features Oakville.
Past Submissions
In 2009 we received submissions from:
Countries: Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States.
Canadian provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.
Festival 2012
- Moving forward, we are expanding the scope of the festival by moving into Toronto.
- Exhibitions will be held in both Oakville and Toronto.
- The main group shows will be the multiple Common Thread International exhibitions.
- New for this festival, we have an outdoor exhibition space at Appleby College. We can now accept both external and internal installations.
- The new "Fibre Inspired" exhibition will feature work that is NOT made of fibre materials, but instead is inspired by the techniques or aesthetic of fibre.
- Our first totally international show will feature Danish Tapestry artists.
- Best of Show and other certificates of merit will be awarded at the end of the Festival.
- We will continue our highly successful Weekly Fibre Artist Interviews series by interviewing artists chosen for the 2012 festival.
Common Thread International Exhibitions
These exhibitions are the flagship shows of the World of Threads Festival. The intention is to bring international contemporary fibre art to Oakville and the Toronto area and highlight the strength of our local artists.
This time, instead of juried exhibitions, we’ve come up with a unique concept. Artists from around the world will be invited to submit bodies of work, installations or individual pieces to the Festival. Multiple curators will draw from a “pool” of submissions to determine the different themes and directions in contemporary fibre art. Each will curate their own exhibitions based on their unique interests.
Chair & Festival Curator: Dawne Rudman
Festival Curator: Gareth Bate
Currently Confirmed Common Thread International Venues:
Galleries |
Curators |
|
| Oakville | ||
| The Gallery at Sheridan Institute |
G. Bate & D. Rudman | |
| Joshua Creek Heritage Arts Centre |
G. Bate & D. Rudman | |
| Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre |
Dawne Rudman | |
| Abbozzo Gallery ("Fibre Inspired" Exhibition) |
Gareth Bate | |
| Appleby College (External Environmental Installations) | G. Bate & D. Rudman | |
| Toronto | ||
| Gallery West | Evan Tyler | |
| Sculptors Society of Canada / Canadian Sculpture Centre |
Richard McNeill | |
| Mon Ton Window Gallery | Rochelle Rubinstein | |
NOTE: More venues may be added as they become official.
Four Calls for Submissions
1) Artwork and Interior Gallery Installations
(DEADLINE PASSED)
Click for Info and Application Process
Artists from around the world are invited to submit their artwork to the Festival. This can be in the form of bodies of work, interior installations or individual pieces.
2) Outside Environmental Installations
(DEADLINE EXTENDED)
Click for Info and Application Process
For the first time, we have secured an external venue, for outside environmental exhibitions. This venue is at Appleby College campus in Oakville, Ontario. Artists from around the world are invited to submit installations for this exhibition.
3) “Fibre Inspired” Exhibition
(DEADLINE PASSED)
Click for Info and Application Process
Festival Curator, Gareth Bate, has observed a trend in international fibre art towards work that engages fibre techniques, or the history of fibre arts, yet is made of non-fibre materials such as paint, plastics and found objects, etc.
He will be curating an exhibition that specifically features work that is NOT made of fibre materials but instead uses other media. Artists from around the world are encouraged to submit work that can be made of anything (including performance and video) but is should be evident how it relates to the theme of "Fibre Inspired". This could involve an engagement with sewing or tapestry techniques, or the overall effect could resemble fibre arts in some way.
4) Proposals for Independent Projects
(STILL OPEN)
Click for Info and Application Process
The World of Threads Festival is inviting proposals for local artists to organize and curate their own exhibitions, or to propose an installation of an existing piece or new installation.
All forms of fibre-related work are acceptable – installations that use actual fibre, or those using fibre inspired techniques in their work. We encourage fine art approaches to fibre exploration in installation or fibre based performance.
Note: The Deadline is different for this proposal: Saturday March 31, 2012.
What Counts as Fibre Art?
That’s a good question. Fibre art is incredibly diverse and our definition is continuously shifting. We are open-minded. Our website has hundreds of examples of fibre art work located under Artist Interviews and Artwork.
Generally fibre art is made from perishable materials that use traditional techniques that include, sewing, tapestry and papermaking. However, more and more artists are using synthetic materials.
Past Media Exhibited: sculpture, installation, earth works, paper work, quilting, weaving, conceptual work, performance (related to fibre), hooking, knitting, embroidery, lace making, crocheting, felting, mixed media, soft sculpture, wearable art, basketry, recycling materials, and plastic manipulation.
What Doesn’t Count as Fibre Art?
Although we are open to “Fibre Inspired” artwork (see our 3rd Submission), we would probably not include works on paper that are essentially drawing or painting, unless the paper itself is somehow being manipulated. If you are unsure if your work counts as “fibre” please contact the Chair & Festival Curator:
Dawne Rudman: dawne@worldofthreadsfestival.com