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Marta Kowalewska Marta Kowalewska is an art historian and critic, curator of exhibitions and author of texts on art. She is the chief curator at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź (CMWŁ), where she curated the 16th, 17th and 18th International Triennials of Textiles and led the curatorial team, which developed CMWŁ’s anniversary exhibition Departments Open / Departments Closed. She has put together Polish and international exhibitions, including: The Work That Textile Does, Metamorphism. Magdalena Abakanowicz, Antoni Starczewski. The Idea of Linear Notation in Łódź, THREADS OF A NEW SPIRITUALITY – Kosmos Project (Milan), We Are Textile Culture Net! (Hong Kong), Antoni Starczewski – Moulding the Ideas (Berlin), Magdalena Abakanowicz – Everything is Made of Fiber (Tilburg). She edited the books Magdalena Abakanowicz. Metamorphism; Textile Textures. Multithreaded narratives; Antoni Starczewski. The Idea of Linear Notation; Splendour of Textiles and Weave Ideas; Antoni Starczewski – Moulding the Ideas. She also published essays in books From Tapestry to Fiber Art: The Lausanne Biennials 1962–1995 (Lausanne-Milan), Magdalena Abakanowicz (Tate Modern, London), Magdalena Abakanowicz à Lausanne (Lausanne-Zurich), Abakanowicz. Konfrontacje (Warsaw), Tapta. Flexible Forms (Susch-Berlin). She has published more than seventy articles, critical texts and interviews. She has been on the juries of international textile art competitions and is a board member of the European Textile Network, as well as the chairwoman of the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation Advisory Board. For the past four years she has been co-managing the project Textile Culture Net. |
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Polly Leonard Following a decade-long career as a teacher. Polly Leonard launched Selvedge in 2003. From its modest beginning, Selvedge Magazine revolutionized the way textiles are presented and has become the world’s leading textile publication. It now has a readership of over 75,000 and a dedicated international following. As well as a magazine, Polly Leonard has launched internationally renowned textile focused events and numerous creative collaborations with the likes of Anthropologie, The National Trust and the V&A. Polly has a specialist knowledge in all aspects of textiles, with particular interest in the role textiles have played in the evolution of humanity, and the role textiles play in indgenous culture. Her own textile practice encompasses weaving, embroidery and basketry techniques. She has taught and lectured around the world. Selvedge combines her passions for social history, fine art and craft.
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Ibrahim Mahama (ur. 1987, Tamale, Ghana) Ibrahim Mahama (b. 1987, Tamale, Ghana) is a renowned artist working between Accra and Tamale. He studied painting and sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi (2013). His practice focuses on repurposing urban materials—jute sacks, wood, shoeboxes, blackboards, and doors—to explore themes of globalization, migration, and trade. As Mahama explains, he is interested in "how crisis and failure are absorbed into these materials, referencing global transactions and capitalist structures." Textiles play a central role in his work, functioning as archival documents of time and place. His monumental installations, created from stitched jute sacks originally used for transporting cocoa, have covered architectural structures tied to consumer societies. Projects like Non-Orientable Nkansa (2016) and Cause I Love You (2024) highlight the transformation of everyday objects into reflections on labor, history, and material fragility. Beyond his artistic practice, Mahama is committed to education and cultural development in Ghana. He has established interdisciplinary institutions such as Red Clay and Nkrumah Volini, fostering exhibitions, research, and artist residencies. Mahama has exhibited at major biennales and institutions worldwide, including the Venice Biennale, São Paulo Bienal, Sharjah Biennial, and Centre Pompidou. His work redefines the relationship between history, materiality, and collective memory. |
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Tina Marais (ur. 1977, Cape Town, RPA) Tina Marais is a Canadian visual and textile artist based in Lyon, France. Her practice explores the intersections of time, memory, and the intricate relationships between human and ecological systems. Combining theoretical researchwith meticulous craftsmanship, her work embodies a conceptual depth that reflects the fluid transitions within naturaland societal frameworks. Marais has presented solo exhibitions internationally, including *Unfoldings and Entanglements* at Gallery 76 inSydney, Australia; *Les Fragments de l’Eau* in Montreal, Canada; *Enchevêtrements* at The Fine Arts Center Gallery,Arkansas State University, USA; and *Filature* at Galerie 7 in Lyon, France. Her work has been featured in over 70group exhibitions and numerous biennials across Canada, the United States, Brazil, Belgium, China, Ukraine,Switzerland, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Poland, France, Colombia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Australia, Portugal, andUruguay. Her notable invitations include the BIEN Biennale in Slovenia (2021), *Material Thinking Biennale* at TsinghuaUniversity in Beijing, China, *World Textile Art Biennale* in Miami, USA (2022), and *Révélations Biennale* at GalerieCollection in Paris (2023). Marais has participated in research and creation residencies such as *Contextile* in Portugal (2022), *La Fonderie* inParis (2024), and programs at Place des Arts and Art Souterrain in partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.Her public art practice includes commissions through Québec’s *Art Public 1%* program. As a lecturer and cultural mediator, she has led over 80 community projects and presented her work at internationalconferences. Recognized for her contributions to the arts, she has received support from the Canada Council for theArts and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec since 2012. Her accolades include the Dora and Avi MorrowFellowship for Excellence in Visual Arts (2019–2020), the Joyce Melville Memorial Scholarship (2021), and the Artist inthe Community Award (2021) for her *Rassemblement* project. Marais holds a degree in Visual Communication from the Open Window Art Institute in South Africa (1997) and aMaster of Fine Arts in Fiber and Material Practices from Concordia University, Montreal (2022). |
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Hanna Rydlewska Editorial Director of Vogue Polska, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Polska Living. Member of the Board of the Visteria Foundation and the Friends of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. A journalist who has been writing for years about literature, art, theater, design, and fashion. She conducts interviews on TVP Kultura as part of the program "Hala odlotów" and hosts the radio show "Edycja limitowana" on Chilli ZET. |
