Contextile 2026 – Contemporary Textile Art Biennial would like to thank the 1.604 artists (from 81 countries) who submitted 2.036 artworks in response to the open call for the International Exhibition. The large turnout and the quantity and high quality of the works made the jury’s task a difficult one, the jury is a multidisciplinary team that includes Lala de Dios (curator, textile artist), Magda Soboń (visual artist and art teacher), Magali Junet (curator at the Fondation Toms Pauli, Lausanne), Susana Pires (visual artist and lecturer), Lewis Biggs (consultant and curator) and Cláudia Melo (artistic director and curator of Contextile 2026).

The Jury gathered in person on the 9th and 10th April in Guimarães, Portugal, and, following a long and arduous evaluation process, selected 54 works by 51 artists (from 27 countries) in accordance with the criteria set out in the competition rules (high creativity, originality and technical skill in relation to the textile element, construction, theme, concept or material used), as well as the theme and concept of Contextile 2026: “By a Thread_Por um Fio”.

The Acquisition Prize and the Honourable Mentions for the International Exhibition will be awarded at the opening of Contextile 2026, taking place on the 5th September in Guimarães, Portugal.

Selected Artists, 2026: