open call: international exhibition at contextile 2024

CONTEXTILE invites all artists (national and international) to present artworks to the competition for the International Exhibition, as part of Contextile 2024 – Contemporary Textile Art Biennial, to be held in the city of Guimarães, Portugal, from the 7th September to the 15th December 2024.

In 2024, the Contextile biennial focuses its activities on the thematic concept To TOUCH, transversal to all the rubrics of its programmatic contents.

"In this edition of CONTEXTILE 2024, we are proposing a reflection on Touch. We believe touch is the foremost sense capable of repositioning people in relation to the world and from a less ocular-centric perspective. Touch is a powerful tool for fostering closer, collaborative, and healthier human relationships. Touch, when used with respect, consent, and consideration, can create environments where people feel more connected to each other, a fundamental aspect in building stronger communities and more cohesive societies. Ethical touch goes beyond the physical aspect, representing, above all, an expression of recognizing humanity in one another.

Textiles and touch are intrinsically linked, forming a complex relationship that spans various dimensions. Textiles, as materials composing fabrics and surfaces, have a distinctive tactile quality with the ability to evoke different sensations when presented against the skin of what we understand to be bodies – “human beings” in organisms, environments, space, and time. If textile conveys complex cultural, historical, technological, and emotional meanings through patterns, colors, communication, and textures, then new identities, new symbolisms from older histories, and inclusive narratives can be reimagined."