The Linen Archetype - 5th International Biennale of Textile Miniatures - Lithuania

"The international biennale of linen miniatures "The Linen Archetype" is a continuous project the purpose of which is to revive the tradition of the linen symposiums-biennales established 14 years ago (1992) in Vilnius and which was discontinued in 1996. This international textile project is already the fifth such event; it invites the textile craftsmen from various countries who are interested in the continuation of the tradition and its transformation in the modern art of textile. Linen is a traditional material; it is one of the oldest world's textile raw materials that have been grown on various continents since the ninth century before Christ. (In Lithuania – since the fourth century before Christ), this is why it occupies a special place in the folk culture of every nation.

Artists from various countries are invited to expose the attitude toward traditional linen, to show the limitless artistic possibilities of this material and its pliability as far as innovatory experiments are concerned.

The title of the project – "the Linen Archetype" – shows that there is a trend to nurture and develop the primary linen images related to folklore, rituals, and traditions; to promote the advancement of the traditional culture in the post-modern milieu.

The project's goal – to obtain deeper knowledge of the traditional textile materials and to search for new means for artistic expression would advance the textile artistic multiplicity. The relations between traditions and modernity, which are constantly unfolding in arts through various forms, are the most essential driving force of its evolution."

7 - 30 June 2007, Art Gallery ARKA, Vilnius, Lithuania, then touring other cities and towns in Lithuania in the following 12 months