For ‘Textile Biennial 2027|Colonial Patterns‘, the Rijswijk Museum invites artists to reflect on the theme of Colonial patterns from the perspective of their own practice and perspective.
From the Open Call: “Colonial patterns are all around us; visible in the clothing we wear, the materials and fabrics we use, and the trade routes that have shaped our world. In motifs, traditions, and production processes, but also in power relations, memories, and identities.”
“Artists from all countries can submit a proposal.”
The exhibition takes place from the 8th of July to the 21st of November, 2027.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
While our members and readers might not be travelling to Arizona in the coming weeks, they still might be interested in learning about other felting organisations’ exhibitions.
The Arizona Felters’ Guild currently has a group show featuring over 50 pieces from 20 of their members.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
There was a wonderful sense of creativity and community at The Leitrim Design House in Carrick-on-Shannon as Feltmakers Ireland launched its latest ArtWall exhibition, ‘Essence of Nature’, on Saturday, 29 August.
The exhibition was officially opened by Cllr Sean McGowan, who welcomed the opportunity to celebrate the talent, imagination and craftsmanship of felt artists from across Ireland.
Bringing together the work of 36 members of Feltmakers Ireland, ‘Essence of Nature’ explores the beauty, diversity and quiet power of the natural world through the expressive medium of felt.
The room was buzzing with chatter and enthusiasm as we welcomed members, families and friends to join us in celebrating the ArtWall launch.
The Essence of Nature
Nature has long been a source of inspiration for artists, and this exhibition demonstrates just how many different ways it can be interpreted.
The participating artists have responded to the theme through landscapes, flora, fauna, light, seasonal change and more abstract interpretations of the natural environment. The result is a varied and vibrant collection that showcases the extraordinary versatility of felt as a contemporary art medium.
From richly textured surfaces and intricate details to bold colour and abstract compositions, each piece offers a personal response to the world around us.
Feltmaking is a particularly tactile art form. Wool and fibre are transformed through traditional and contemporary techniques into artworks that invite the viewer to look closely and appreciate both the skill involved and the stories behind each creation.
A Celebration of Irish Felt Artists
Feltmakers Ireland is a vibrant community dedicated to promoting feltmaking and supporting artists working with this versatile textile medium. Members work across wet felting, needle felting and mixed-media approaches, combining traditional skills with contemporary artistic ideas.
The ArtWall exhibition provides a valuable opportunity for artists to share their work with a wider audience and demonstrate that felt is not simply a craft material, but a rich and exciting medium for fine art and creative expression.
The exhibition also highlights the continuing interest in handmade, sustainable and locally connected creative practices, celebrating the heritage of wool and fibre while looking towards the future of textile art.
A Special Setting at The Leitrim Design House
The Leitrim Design House, located within The Dock Arts Centre in Carrick-on-Shannon, provides a fitting setting for the exhibition. The Leitrim Design House
The ArtWall allows the individual works to come together as one larger celebration of colour, texture, nature and imagination. It is a chance for visitors to discover the diversity of contemporary feltmaking while also supporting the artists whose work is represented.
With all the artworks created by Feltmakers Ireland members, the exhibition reflects the breadth of talent within the organisation and the strong sense of community that exists among its makers.
Visit the Exhibition
‘Essence of Nature’ is on display at The Leitrim Design House in Carrick-on-Shannon from late August through early October 2026, forming part of the wider August Craft Month programme.
Visitors are invited to take their time exploring the ArtWall, discovering the individual interpretations of nature and appreciating the skill, creativity and dedication behind each piece.
The exhibition is a celebration not only of nature, but of the artists who continue to find inspiration in it — and of the enduring possibilities of felt as an art form.
‘Essence of Nature’ offers a beautiful reminder that something as simple as wool and fibre can be transformed into art that is deeply personal, richly textured and full of life.
As part of Dublin Independent Fashion Week, Fibreshed Ireland is hosting a day to show designers and makers what Irish-grown fibres are available.
The “Soil-to-Soil exhibition” features work from members of Fibreshed Ireland (which also includes makers who are members of Feltmakers Ireland).
Learn about the past, present, and future of linen on this island through a documentary and immersive VR experience.
Discover the power of 5% through a hands-on decorative stitches workshop, where attendees get a chance to craft their own signature detail to a garment, using only Irish-grown yarns.
“Homegrown: a day of Irish fibres” has been organised and produced by the following:
The Soil-so-Soil exhibition is made up of pieces by Fibreshed Ireland members.
Cúpla Snaithe is a project by Fibreshed Ireland member Eva Kerley.
The ‘Flax: Threads of Time’ documentary and VR experience was produced by Kathy Kirwan of the Flax Lín community group and Wombat Media.
The production and screening of the ‘Flax: Threads of Time’ documentary and VR experience have been supported by the Shared Island Civic Society Fund, managed by the Government of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
We are delighted to share news of an upcoming exhibition by our fellow guild within the Design & Craft Council Ireland: a show by the Irish Guild of Embroiderers. Their display, ‘Threads of Imagination: An Exhibition of Embroidery and Textile Art ‘, is the guild’s biennial show.
Feltmakers Ireland member Ramona Farrelly has a piece in it. The photograph shown here is an in-process image of Ramona’s piece, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her work before it takes its place in the exhibition.
When: Tuesday, the 1st of September through Saturday, the 3rd of October 2026
For more information about the Guild, which meets monthly on Saturdays at the Mount Merrion Community Centre, visit their website: https://www.irishguildofembroiderers.ie/
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
There is a ‘Native Irish Fibres Material Library’ exhibition at the micro gallery of the Edward Murphy Library of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD).
It is the work of three NCAD master’s students in the Circular by Design programme, who researched and piloted an online toolkit, a materials library, and an awareness campaign to encourage designers to use more Irish-grown raw materials in their work. Their tutor, Maureen Laverty, and Fibreshed Ireland helped to guide them. Their project was the winner of the Dublin City Council’s ENFUSE competition. A physical book version will be available soon.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Save the Date: Members of Feltmakers Ireland will exhibit artwork at the Leitrim Design House‘s ArtWall.
Essence of Nature brings together the work of talented felt artists from across Ireland. The exhibition explores the quiet power, beauty, and diversity of the natural world through the rich and expressive medium of felt. Inspired by landscapes, flora, fauna, light, and seasonal change, the artworks showcase both traditional and contemporary felting techniques, highlighting the creativity and innovation of Ireland’s feltmaking community.
Visitors are warmly invited to attend the launch and exhibition to experience this inspiring collection of contemporary felt art in the heart of County Leitrim. The show is part of August Craft Month.
When: The exhibition runs from Wednesday, the 26th of August to Saturday, the 3rd of October 2026.
The exhibition will officially launch on Saturday, the 29th of August, at 12 noon.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about content, please follow the link to the organisation involved in hosting the event.
Guild member Caoilfionn Murphy O’Hanlon (aka Cushla of Gullion) has artwork in the Bridge Street Studios group show, The Things that Matter Most are the Things That Can’t Be Seen, which features the works of eight artists. The show celebrates 30 years of the Bridge Street Studios existence.
Guild member Maggie Mac has a piece in the ‘Members and Friends Exhibition 2026’. Running annually for more than 40 years, this exhibition showcases work by artists from across West Cork and beyond, at all stages of their careers.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
Come to Tallaght Library, in County Dublin, to explore a unique collection of vintage sewing machines, each with its own story and charm.
During the afternoon, there will be live demonstrations offering a closer look at how these machines were used.
Visitors will also have the chance to try out hand-crank sewing machines with the Library’s Mender in Residence, which is a lovely opportunity to slow down, learn something new, and connect with a traditional craft.
This is a relaxed, drop-in session, and everyone is very welcome. No booking required.
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For content-related questions, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
The solo show ‘Living Felt: a Manifesto’ of feltmaker, milliner, and painter Saar Snoek features her explorations of 30 hats, sculptural works in felt, and her World of WearableArt (WOW) piece ‘Wild Things’. She creates her work using a variety of fascinating techniques – many of them felting!
“I made these to forget there is a ‘right way’ to make felt. Everything you don’t know is experimental, everything you know technique” — Saar Snoek
Feltmakers Ireland aims to share information about awards, education, events, exhibitions, and opportunities that you will find interesting. Our sharing is neither paid for by nor an endorsement of these individuals or organisations.
Contact Us: If you have any concerns about content, please email us at feltmakersie@gmail.com.
Questions: For questions about the content, please follow the link to the organisation hosting the event.
