Fibre & Textiles

Exhibition & Symposium

March 3–April 10, 2027
BMFA Shop and Hall Gallery · Collingwood

The Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts (BMFA) is planning a major regional exhibition of textile and fibre art, bringing together artists from communities around Georgian Bay.

We welcome emerging and established artists working in weaving, quilting, embroidery, beadwork, basketry, felting, wearable art, sculpture, installation and experimental fibre practices. Both traditional and contemporary perspectives are welcome.

Exhibition

Full submission details and the application link will be available here on December 1, 2026. Applications will close on January 31, 2027.

Artists will be asked to submit a portfolio of their work, an artist statement and a CV.

Symposium

An accompanying symposium in April 2027 will bring artists together to discuss their work, its meaning, their materials and their creative process.

We are seeking expressions of interest from artists who would like to give a 10–15 minute talk. Artists will be able to indicate their interest when applications open.

The symposium date and venue will be announced once confirmed.

Symposium Call for Artist Talks:

We welcome 10-15 minute artist talks exploring techniques and processes, the ecology of making, and the influence of the land around us.

The themes below offer starting points, and we welcome other ideas arising from your practice.

 

  • Embodied knowledge. How do we learn through making and pass skills between generations? What do our hands discover as we work?

  • Material ecologies of Georgian Bay. How do artists work with local fibres, natural materials and found objects? What roles do these materials play in our work and in the places they come from?

  • Cloth as a material archive. What stories do textiles carry through making, wearing, mending and passing them on? What can they reveal about the people who used and cared for them?

  • Making in community. What happens when people come together to make? How does working alongside others influence our practice?

  • Between art and craft. How do we understand fibre’s place between art and craft? How do these labels affect the way our work is seen and valued?

  • Fibre and women’s histories. How has textile art shaped women’s lives and creative expression? How are artists continuing or reinterpreting these traditions today?

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Questions? Comments? Collaborations? Please contact Katie Jakobiec at [email protected]