Threads Textiles Festival

Overview

Hold onto your knitting dears, a five-day festival celebrating the rich history and modern context of textiles is coming to Wellington in March.

It's the third year in a row Wellington's dedicated visual arts festival is returning, after the successful Fired Up Festival of Ceramics in 2020 and Face to Face Portrait Festival in 2021.

This year textiles are taking the main stage with Threads Textiles Festival, which takes place across Pōneke from Wednesday, March 16 until Sunday, March 20.

Part of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts, Threads Textiles Festival sees 15 free exhibitions and a series of workshops, talks, and tours throughout the capital over the five-day festival, bringing to life the rich history of cloth and embroidery worldwide.

From intricate stitching to 1970s high fashion, psychedelic oriental rugs, Māori weaving, and Niuean barkcloth, unique textiles traditions from across the globe will be in show. There will also be presentations from a range of influential local and international figures, including iconic Kiwi designer Kate Sylvester and Azerbaijani contemporary artist, Faig Ahmed.

This year, a select number of Wellington boutiques have joined the line up, with pop-up exhibitions at boutiques including Caughley, Twenty Seven Names, and Yu Mei.

There will be many gorgeous free exhibitions of highly detailed and skilled hand stitching and embroidery at galleries across the city (including Lower Hutt, Petone, and Thorndon) so lace up your sneakers and make a day of it. It's a great chance to support Aotearoa's arts community among a slew of cancelled festivals and events.