BIEN 2025: Air
31 May – 14 August 2025

BIEN is a textile art biennial that takes place every two years across various locations in Slovenia. It features an international exhibition of contemporary textile art, alongside a community and knowledge-sharing programme, highlighting the transformative power of textile practices for individual wellbeing and social impact.

BIEN 2025, held under the central theme “air,” runs from 31 May to 14 August 2025 in Kranj, Škofja Loka, Idrija, Nova Gorica, Gorizia, Tržič, and Jesenice. This leading Slovenian event of contemporary textile creativity is part of the official programme of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025.

Find more info HERE.

Contemporary textile art at more than 25 locations

BIEN 2025 features 80 international and Slovenian collectives, artists, crafters, and researchers, as well as over 200 students of textile art and design. The main venue of the biennial is the Layer House in Kranj, with additional locations including the Lantieri Palace in Gorizia, the Ravnikar Rotunda at the Nova Gorica Theatre, the Jesenice Market, the mining facilities and the renovated Mercury Smelting Plant in Idrija, the chapel of the Škofja Loka Castle, and the Crobath Family House, which will greet visitors at the entrance to the old town center of Kranj. The curator of the artistic programme is Lovro Ivančić.

Among the most recognized names in textile art are Eta Sadar Breznik, a Slovenian artist and recipient of the Prešeren Fund Award, Norwegian John K. Raustein, who creates monumental textile installations imbued with the power of color, Marielle MacLeman, an Irish artist who transforms discarded and pressed textiles into stunning textile and visual installations, Jakup Ferri, who represented the Kosovo Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2022 with playful textile drawings, Swedish artist Ellen Dynebrink, who blends digital distortions into her patchworks, and Signe Emdal from Denmark, who brings the instinct for self-preservation into her soft sculptures. Four artists from Škofja Loka, collective Kreativnice, are preparing an installation for the mining facilities in Idrija. Also coming to Idrija is the Dutch collective IPIHAN, which creates site-specific exhibitions in abandoned buildings, based on the history and context of the chosen space.

Exhibition openings take place between 31 May (Kranj) and 21 June (Gorizia). On Friday, June 20th, the biennale invites to a textile experience on the train from Jesenice to Nova Gorica. Passengers will engage in a textile crafting program on the train.

Fine more info about the entire biennale programme HERE.

With Textile into Resilience

International knowledge-sharing and experiential program WellBIEN, curated by textile artist and art therapist Jasmina Ferček from the collective Oloop, includes workshops, meetings, lectures, and reflections on ethical questions and dilemmas that arise at the intersection of art and health. The first event will take place on May 24th at Domačija pr’ Lenart na Belem, while on June 1st, a discussion titled “Textile in Resistance” will be held at the Kranj Škrlovec Tower. Lectures by internationally renowned art therapists and academics will explore textiles as a medium for reflection, care, and empowerment. Savneet Talwar (USA), Jasmina Pacek (Croatia/USA), and Pamela Whitaker (Ireland) will highlight creative practices such as sewing, embroidery, and patchwork, offering opportunities for visual storytelling that connect the fields of art, therapy, and social activism.

From June 2nd to 4th, experiential training will take place at various locations in Kranj, aimed at strengthening personal and professional competencies in the use of art in care professions. The three-day program reTHREAD: Self-care and Community through Textile and Nature will encourage participants to engage in self-exploration, reflection, creativity, and expression, thereby empowering them both personally and professionally. The WellBIEN program is part of the Culture for Mental Health project, co-financed by the Ministry of Public Administration.

BIEN artists, creators, researchers, practitioners

John K. Raustein (NO), Marielle MacLeman (IE), Ellen Dynebrink (SE), Jakup Ferri (XK/NL), Patrícia Geraldes (PT), Savneet Talwar (USA), Jasmina Pacek (HR/USA), Eta Sadar Breznik (SI), Kreativnice (SI; Nina Vastl Štefe, Lili Panjtar, Anja Musek, Silva Horvat), Signe Emdal (DK), Vera Sešlar Založnik (SI), Jana Zornik (SI), IPIHAN (NL) & Maruša Štibelj (SI), Rino Banko (HR), Nika Batista (SI), Mateja Kavčič & Vita Ivičič (SI), Oloop (SI), No-Border Craft (SI), Breja Preja (SI), Oljana Karpus (UA), Brinas Studio (SI), Matija Samec (SI), Ajda Tomazin (SI) & Rok Kravanja (SI), Katarina Ekart (SI), Lavoslava Benčić (SI/HR) & Žiga Pavlovič (SI), Marija Jenko (SI), Maruša Kranjc (SI), Mateja Golež (SI), Elena Fajt & Alenka More (SI/IN), Helena Tahir (SI), Klara Debeljak (SI), Alexander Sebastianus Hartanto (ID), Amy Lewis (NL), Andrea Kaňkovská (CZ) & Lucia Horňáková Černayová (SK), Anneke Klein (NL), Barber and Adkins (UK), Bilyana Tokmakchieva (BG), Boris Beja (SI), Claudia Coll (SE/ES), Dieke Venema (NL), Dimitra Stavropoulou (GR), Ela Leko (HR), Eli Herlaug Eines (NO), Estefania Tarud (CL), Gondwana Art Project (IN), Helle Rude Trolle (DK), Izabela Walczak (PL), Jana Visser (SA/NL), Jolanda Linssen (NL), Karl Logge (AU) & Marta Romani (IT), Katarina Rus (SI), Kristi Komel (SI), Leonie Burkhardt (DE/SE), Liz Pitta Paredes (CO), Lou Belbeze (FR), Magdalena Kleszynska (PL), Mateja Kavčič (SI), Michael Gah (GH), Mingyes (KR/UK), Moa Bleyner Cederberg (FI/CO), Olga Klimovitskaia (UK), Olga Ulmann (DE), Olivia Géraud (FR), Petra Šabić (HR), Ruta Naujalyte (LT), Sam J Gardner (US/PL), Sunna Kangas (FI), Theresa Hattinger (AT), Ying-ting Chen (TW), Zixiang Zhang (CN), Žiga Brezovnik (SI/DK), Pamela Whitaker (IE), children from kindergartens and seniors from care homes (Škofja Loka, Jesenice, Kranj)

2025 CUrator: Lovro Ivančić
WellBIEN Curator: Jasmina Ferček

Participating Faculties

→ Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana – Department of Textiles, Graphic Arts and Design
→ Faculty of Design – Independent Higher Education Institution
→ Arts Academy of the University of Nova Gorica
→ Department of Art Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana
→ Department of Landscape Architecture, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana

BIEN is an art event and exhibition. It aims to bring contemporary textile art and the benefits of textile crafting closer to diverse target groups. It is grounded in three pillars: heritage, sustainability, and social impact. BIEN is an initiative of Zavod Carnica from Kranj, which manages the Layer House cultural centre, organises cultural and artistic events, and helps shape an environment where art has the power to inspire social change.

BIEN is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, the public institution GO! 2025 – European Capital of Culture, Nova Gorica, the Municipality of Jesenice, and the Municipality of Kranj. BIEN is part of the programme Culture for Mental Health, funded by the Ministry of Public Administration of the Republic of Slovenia. BIEN is supported by the Embassy of Sweden, the Embassy of Kosovo, Culture Ireland, the European Union, the Learning Labs Program, the Creative FLIP Project, and the European Festival Fund for Emerging Artists – co-funded by the EU. The project collaborates with academic partners: the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Department of Textiles, Graphic Arts and Design; Faculty of Design, independent higher education institution; Arts Academy of the University of Nova Gorica; Department of Art Education, Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana; Department of Landscape Architecture, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana.

Photo: Maša Pirc