PROGRAMME
For 85 days, Guimarães will host a vibrant and multidisciplinary programme centered around the theme – By a Thread – which includes exhibitions, artistic residencies, performances, interventions in public spaces, workshops, and the Textile Talks, celebrating the richness of contemporary art and textile culture.
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
Having assumed a central role in CONTEXTILE’s artistic program over the course of its eight editions, the International Exhibition has once again broken participation records in its open call—1,604 artists and 2,036 works submitted from 80 countries, the highest number of submissions ever.
Based on the theme and concept of this 8th edition — “By a Thread” / “Por um Fio”, the jury—a multidisciplinary team composed of Lala de Dios, Lewis Biggs, Magali Junet, Magda Sobón, Susana Pires, and Cláudia Melo (artistic director of CONTEXTILE)—selected 53 works by 50 artists, representing 27 countries.
Palácio Vila Flor – CCVF
Av. Dom Afonso Henriques, 701
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Tuesday to Sunday 9:30–13:30, 14:30–18:30
AI WEIWEI
INVITED ARTIST
Ai Weiwei, for whom “everything is art; everything is political,” is the invited artist for Contextile 2026. A global, world-renowned artist who accepted our invitation to intervene in Guimarães within the framework of the Biennale, around the theme of this 8th edition, “By a Thread” / “Por um Fio”. The artist created and produced several interventions in public spaces and at CIAJG, in partnership with various local companies and entities, addressing issues such as surveillance, heritage protection, collective memory, and the vulnerability that leaves the planet hanging ‘by a thread’.
“Camouflage”
· Plataforma das Artes e da Criatividade
“Net”
· Tanques de Couros/Fraterna
“Fabricattion“
· Centro Internacional de Artes José Guimarães
CIAJG – Centro Internacional das Artes José de Guimarães
Avenida Conde Margaride, 175
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Tuesday to Sunday 9:30–13:30, 14:30–18:30
PAC – Praça das Artes e da Criatividade
Avenida Conde Margaride, 175
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Public space
Bairro de Couros
“A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER?”
MATERIAL STORYTELLING IN A AGE OF UNCERTAINTY
Curated by Janis Jefferies, this exhibition proposes a reflection on the current social context—marked by governments, major oil companies, and a financial sector that sideline climate commitments—and challenges artists to think through renewal and adaptation to reimagine our future, creating new narratives about who we are and what we value. “A Change in the Weather?” features works by 5 artists working across various media who are at the forefront of this resistance, both culturally and from a global perspective, using textiles as material and medium to tell their stories.
Jakkai Siributr (Thailand) | Galeria Garagem Avenida
Movana Chen (Hong Kong) | Galeria Garagem Avenida
Simon Callery (England) | Sociedade Martins Sarmento
Taloi Havini (Papua New Guinea) | Palacete de Santiago
Teresa Lanceta (Spain) | Sociedade Martins Sarmento
PALACETE DE SANTIAGO
Praça de São Tiago, 31
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Segunda a sexta-feira 10:00–18:00
Encerra ao fim de semana
SOCIEDADE MARTINS SARMENTO
R. Paio Galvão, 2
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Tuesday to Sunday 9:30–12h30, 14:30–17:30
GALERIA GARAGEM AVENIDA
Av. D. Afonso Henriques, 250
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Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–13:00, 14:00–18:00
WEAVING THE GREEN
TECER O VERDE
PUBLIC ART INTERVENTIONS
5 September – 29 November
ARTISTIC RESIDENCIES
10 October – 29 November
In partnership with Guimarães 2026 – European Green Capital, “WEAVING THE GREEN” (“TECER O VERDE”) is a living laboratory that intersects contemporary art, urban ecology, science, and traditional know-how, calling attention to and activating an urgent ecological awareness.
Structured through interventions in the city’s public and natural spaces, the project challenges various national and international artists to develop Public Art works and proposals in direct collaboration with the local community and partners. This reinforces the synergy between contemporary textile art, the textile industry, regional traditions, and raw materials with sustainability themes, focusing on the creation of sculptural and site-specific installation works in public spaces.
ALAN HERNÁNDEZ, Mexico | Mercado Municipal
YEN-YU TSENG, Taiwan | Mercado Municipal
MATHIEU FECTEAU, Canada | Jardim do Mercado Municipal
GUILLAUME BRISSON-DARVEAU, Canada | Praça do Conde de Arnoso
LARA SALOUS, Palestine | Arquivo Municipal de Guimarães
COLETIVO PALMA – MIGUEL ÂNGELO MARQUES e CATARINA BRAGA, Portugal | Convento de Santo António dos Capuchos
October 10 – November 29
KRZYŚ BYKOWSKI, Poland | Convento de Santo António dos Capuchos
October 10 – November 29
AMBRE RAIMBAULT, France | Convento de Santo António dos Capuchos
October 10 – November 29
IDOIA CUESTA, Spain | Museu de Alberto Sampaio (Claustro)
ARTISTIC RESIDENCIES
MERCADO MUNICIPAL
R. do Montinho 5
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Segunda a sexta 9:00–18:00
Sábado 9:00–13:00
MERCADO MUNICIPAL GARDEN
R. do Montinho 5
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Public space
CONVENTO DE SANTO ANTÓNIO DOS CAPUCHOS
R. Dr. Joaquim de Meira
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Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–13:00, 14:00–17:00
PUBLIC ART INTERVENTIONS
MONUMENTO DO CONDE ARNOSO
Largo da República do Brasil 323
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Public space
MUSEU DE ALBERTO SAMPAIO
R. Alfredo Guimarães
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Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00
ARQUIVO MUNICIPAL
Rua João Lopes de Faria, 12
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Monday to Friday 9:00–12:30, 14:00–17:30
“EMERGÊNCIAS”
Artistic Education and Textile Creation
Continuing the initiative of previous editions, Contextile once again invites Art schools with textile-related disciplines to engage and challenge their students to express critical thought through their artistic practice.
Affirming the role of textiles in art as a tool for imagining new proposals and reflecting on social transformations, the “Emergências” program reinforces Contextile’s role as a mediating space for learning, research, and innovation.
These works are presented in an exhibition featuring pieces created by students from the following schools:
– Escola de Arquitetura, Arte e Design da Universidade do Minho
– Escola Artística António Arroio
– Escola Artística Soares dos Reis
– Escola Superior de Artes e Design
– Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade de Lisboa
– Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto
– Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e Ave
– Universidade da Beira Interior
IDEGUI – Instituto de Design de Guimarães
Rua da Ramada
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Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–18:00
GROWING HOUSE
Project by
Fiber Media Lab/FML/, curated by Assadour Markarov and students from China Academy of Art, Hangzhou
“The house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.”
— Gaston Bachelard
Addressing the “house” not merely as a physical space inhabited by the body, but also as a psychological marker of security and refuge, the project “Growing House” emerges as a poetic response / an antidote to the complexity of contemporary life and the exhausting, fast-paced rhythm of a speed-driven society.
Amid scaffolding, boxes, threads, and fabric, a house constructed through weaving, knitting, knotting, and collage opens its doors to the public. It is a labyrinthine house that evolves and evokes a state of transformation, play, and chaos within the imagination, while simultaneously offering room for contemplation and perspective—much like the prompt of the 8th edition of CONTEXTILE under the motto “By a Thread” / “Por um Fio”: a thread that serves as a warning regarding the fragility of a world navigating crises, yet also stands as a hopeful reminder of the capacity for regeneration and, as with homes, reconfiguration.
Curator:
Assadour Markarov
Artistic team:
Ren Zhe
Zhu Zhixian
Li Ying
Luo Shilin
Li Wen
Mariya Ganeva
CURTIR CIÊNCIA EM GUIMARÃES
R. da Ramada 166
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Monday to Friday 10:00–13:00, 14:00–17:00
TEXTILE TALKS
Art and Sustainability
September 6 and 7.
One of the key elements of the Biennial’s mission to position textiles in the field of contemporary art is to promote reflection and dialogue around ideas and practices. In this edition, in partnership with Guimarães European Green Capital 2026 and commissioned by Susana Milão, Ricardo Gil Pereira, Lala de Dios and Isabel Cabral, Textile Talks focuses on the synergies between Art and Sustainability, providing a platform for the presentation and discussion of artistic projects.
AUDITÓRIO CCVF
Av. Dom Afonso Henriques, 701
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WORKSHOPS
Five technical and creative workshops will be held, covering different artistic areas and aimed at artists and the general public.
08 September | 10h-13h | 14h-17h (6h)
Textile Printing and Painting with Natural Dyes
By Lala de Dios
09 September | 10h-13h | 14h-17h (6h)
Paper Meets Textile – Experimental Papermaking
By Magda Sobon
10 September. | 10h-13h | 14h-17h (6h)
Unraveling the Color: Natural Dyes
By Joana Sequeira, Luís Gonçalves Ferreira and Mónica Faria
12 September | 10h-13h | 14h-17h (6h)
Threads of the Web and the Weave
By Fernando Rei
19 September | 10h-13h | 14h-17h (6h)
Textile Workshop – From Design to Fabric Productiond
By Orenzio Santi
