In person / Exhibition / Multiple Techniques
Scandinavia House, in partnership with New York Textile Month, is pleased to present the second iteration of NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER, a weekend exhibition, program, and workshop highlighting contemporary Nordic textiles. Featuring an exhibition in the Scandinavia House gallery, the program includes artist talks and curator walkthrough, a reception, and hands-on workshops. The weekend program will also highlight work from recent textile art graduates from Textilhögskolan Borås.
NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER is a Nordic textile collaboration project co-curated by Ragna Froda (ISL/US), Director of New York Textile Month, and Emily Stoddart (CA), manager of exhibitions and community programs at Scandinavia House, New York. Support has been provided by the Icelandic Craft Council.
Program Schedule:
Saturday, September 13—$5 (free for ASF Members) for all events
2 PM: Artist Talk: Randi Samsonsen (Faroe Islands)
2:30 PM: Artist Talk: Juha Vehmaanperä (Finland)
3 PM: Curator walkthrough of the exhibition in the Scandinavia House Galleries
4-6 PM: Reception
Sunday, September 14; Details/Price TBA
12-3 PM: Crochet Hot Dog Workshop with Randi Samsonsen (Faroe Islands); Details TBA
12-3 PM: Workshop with Juha Vehmaanperä (Finland); Details TBA
12-5 PM: Open Gallery Hours; free
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Interwoven: Nordic Knits & Crochet in Contemporary Art and Design
Exhibition in three parts
Knitting and crochet have long been woven into the cultural fabric of the Nordic countries. Rooted in centuries of tradition, these skills are commonly learned from a young age, still part of school curriculums today. Once essential for making warm garments to endure long winters, they are now passed on as a cultural tradition, keeping the craft alive across generations.
Knitting with yarn began to appear in contemporary art in the 1960s and 70s, during the rise of the fiber art movement. This period challenged the traditional hierarchy that placed crafts such as knitting in the realm of “low art” beneath painting or sculpture. Within a wave of feminist practice, knitting and crochet shifted from the domestic sphere into the realm of creative and political expression, becoming tools for storytelling, resistance, and experimentation.
Today, Nordic artists and designers continue to push this legacy forward, expanding the possibilities of textile-making beyond its utilitarian roots. Their works explore form, structure, and surface, sometimes embracing traditional techniques, sometimes dismantling them to invent new approaches. Materials range from repurposed yarns and recycled fibers to unconventional elements such as horsehair and algae-based wool, harvested from Nordic waters.
In this exhibition, design and art are presented side by side, offering a lens into the many expressions of this age-old method. Knitting becomes more than a craft, it is a way of thinking, a tactile archive of heritage, and a continually evolving art form and innovation for new fashion materials. Here, interwoven histories and contemporary voices meet in each loop and knot, connecting the past to the present, necessity to imagination, and tradition to radical reinvention.
Featuring: Isabel Berglund (Denmark), Álfrún Pálmadóttir (Iceland), Ása Bríet (Iceland), Asta Gudmundsdottir (Iceland), Randi Samsonsen (Faroe Islands), Astrid and Kamilla – Threads of Fate (Denmark), Ýr Jóhannsdóttir (Iceland), Högna Sól Thorkelsdóttir (Iceland), Olivia Maj Ballentyne (Sweden), Halla Ármansdottir (Iceland), Juha Vehmaanperä (Finland), Kiyoshi Yamamoto (Norway), Karlssonwilker, Inc. (Iceland/New York).