This September in partnership with New York Textile Month, Scandinavia House presents the third iteration of NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER, an exhibition, workshop series and symposium highlighting contemporary Nordic Textiles. This year’s program, THE COLD STITCH, celebrates textile art as a living and evolving practice deeply rooted in the cultures of the North, where a strong tradition of working with textiles as an art form exists as stitching continues to mend, preserve and reimagine the world around us.
On view from September 4-16, the exhibition brings together artists from across the Nordic region whose practices engage with textiles as both a material and language. These include Margrethe Aanestad (Norway), Valgerður Bergsdottir (Iceland), Ellen Dynebrink (Sweden), Ragna Froda (Iceland), Heidi Hankaniemi (Finland), Ingunn Fjóla IngÞórsdóttir (IS), Lee Jensen (Denmark), Andrea Magdalena Jonsdottir (IS), John K. Raustein (NO), Randi Samsonsen (Faroe Islands), Sunna Sigfríðardóttir (IS), Nora Martine Hjelle Strand (NO), Thórunn Elísabet (Tótalisa) (IS), Josabet Werkmäster (SE), Mette Winckelmann (DK) and Kiyoshi Yamamoto (NO).
Through quilting, patchwork, collage, weaving, hand embroidery, sculptural textiles and visible and invisible stitching, the exhibition explores how textile traditions have continued to evolve within contemporary art. A stitch binds fragments together while allowing histories, emotions, reflections on the political climate, and personal narratives to remain visible. Echoing this feature, many of the works in the exhibition embrace reuse and transformation, giving discarded fabrics, garments, yarns, and textile remnants new meaning through the artistic process.
THE COLD STITCH Event Schedule
- Sept 5, 2pm: Curator Walkthrough led by Ragna Froda
- Sept 8, 5:30pm: Basket Weaving Workshop with Leila Bacch
- Sept 12, 2pm: Artist Talks with Thórunn Elísabet (Tótalisa), Nora Martine Hjelle Strand, and Ingunn Fjóla Ingfiórsdóttir
- Sept 12, 4pm-6pm: Curator Walkthrough and Reception
- Sept 13, 12pm – 4pm: Stitching Circle Workshop with Thórunn Elísabet (Tótalisa), Nora Martine Hjelle Strand,and Andrea Magdalena Jónsdóttir
- Sept 16, 3pm – 6pm: Artist Talk and Workshop with Heidi Hankaniemi
- Sept 16, 6pm: Final Curator Walkthrough
GALLERY HOURS
Sept 4-15: Tuesday-Sunday, 12pm – 6pm
Sept 16: Wednesday, 12pm – 8pm
Free Admission
Organized by the American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF), THE COLD STITCH is co-organized by Ragna Froda (IS/U.S.), director of New York Textile Month, and Emily Stoddart (Canada), manager of exhibitions and community programs at Scandinavia House. The exhibition is curated by Ragna Froda. All events take place at Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue (b/w 37th & 38th Streets), NYC.
Learn more at scandinaviahouse.org.
