The 5th Young Textile Art Triennial YTAT - Łódź 2025 will take place from October 12 to December 31, 2025, at the City Art Gallery in Łódź. This international art event is organized by the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź.
Launched in 2012, the triennial serves as a unique platform for the exchange of experiences and dialogue among young artists, educators, and creative communities from around the world. At the heart of the event are contemporary artistic practices in the textile medium.
This year’s edition includes three main events:
• The international YTAT competition for students and graduates of art academies
• The nationwide “Nowe Wątki 2025” competition for high school students from art schools
• A master seminar with Ibrahim Mahama – a highly regarded and internationally recognized artist
66 participants from 28 art academies representing 17 countries have been selected for the YTAT 2025 competition, including Japan, Canada, the USA, the UK, Estonia, Ukraine, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.
Participating institutions include:
Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (Slovakia), The Swedish School of Textiles, University of Borås (Sweden), Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Czech Republic), Pallas University of Applied Sciences (Estonia), Concordia University (Canada), National Academy of Art (Bulgaria), Kent State University School of Art (USA), Art Academy of Latvia (Latvia), University of Hradec Králové (Czech Republic), Tainan National University of the Arts (Taiwan), Technical University of Liberec (Czech Republic), Joshibi University of Art and Design (Japan), Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), University of Zagreb (Croatia), Estonian Academy of Arts (Estonia), Faculty of Kaunas, Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania), Vilnius Academy of Arts (Lithuania), Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Royal College of Art (United Kingdom), and from Poland: The Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts Łódź, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts in Poznan, Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk, Academy of Art in Szczecin, Lodz University of Technology, and Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology.
Prizes will be awarded in two categories: textile art and textile design. Winners will be selected by an international jury composed of:
• Ibrahim Mahama – visual artist
• Polly Leonard – editor-in-chief of 'Selvedge Magazine'
• Tina Marais – visual artist
• Hanna Rydlewska – journalist and editor at 'Vogue Poland'
• Marta Kowalewska – chief curator at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź
In the national competition “Nowe Wątki 2025,” 29 works were selected for the second stage out of 46 submissions. The jury – Assoc. Prof. Lidia Choczaj, DA (chair); Zuzanna Wójcik, MA; and Tomasz Dróżdż, DA – selected finalists representing 8 art high schools from across Poland.
The final exhibition of the “Nowe Wątki 2025” competition will be held at the Academic Design Center in Łódź from October 12 to November 4, 2025. The opening and awards announcement will take place on October 12 at 12:00 PM.
The exhibition of YTAT 2025 will be on view at the City Art Gallery in Łódź until December 31, 2025. The vernissage and awards ceremony will be held on October 12 at 6:30 PM.
The master seminar with Ibrahim Mahama will take place on October 12, 2025, at 1:00 PM at the Academic Design Center in Łódź. The seminar will be a unique opportunity to explore Mahama’s practice – bridging local engagement with the global discourse of contemporary art. Admission will be free and open to the public, subject to availability.
All events of the 5th edition of YTAT - Łódź 2025 are held under the shared theme “Deconstruction / Reconstruction,” which refers to the central idea of the 18th International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź and marks the 80th anniversary of the Władysław Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź.
