Girona, 18-th to 21-st of September 2025
At the invitation of the Catalan association Associació de Puntaires Comarques de Girona and its leader Maria Mercé Rovira Regas, I participated in the 1st Biennial of Contemporary Lace in Girona, Catalonia, from September 18th to 21st. At the biennial, I presented a small exhibition of selected pieces of my original lace jewelry, showcased two lace creations at the fashion show, and conducted a workshop on Idrija lace pattern design.
The first edition of the biennial was particularly dedicated to artists from Eastern and Central Europe, placing me in distinguished company with names such as Jana Novak, Jana Frajkorova, Iva Proškova, Bistra Pisančeva, Eva and Malgorzata Spilla and Matej Pisca. In addition to our works, visitors could also see a large collective exhibition of contemporary lace artists from around the world, as well as the exhibition of the hosts, the Associació de Puntaires Comarques de Girona, renowned for their original environmental lace installations.
My Saturday drawing workshop was well attended, with 12 lace makers from around the world (Spain, France, Poland, Australia...) eager to learn more about the Idrija lace narrow tape technique with an emphasis on creating their own patterns. Considering the short time frame (4 hours), the task was quite challenging, but all the participants managed it successfully. Of course, they could not finish their lace within such a short time, but many continued their work during the group lace-making session that followed on Sunday.
The event also featured several lectures, including one about a beautiful lace tablecloth created for the Sagrada Familia church by the lace school of Barcelona, and a talk on lace in the context of contemporary art by artist (and outstanding lacemaker herself) Marian Nuñez.
The significance of this biennial is reflected in the names of renowned artists who contributed their works to the exhibition (Lauran Sundin, Lieve Smets, Theresa Kelly, Mary Elizabeth Barron, Jo Newman, Nicole Gammie, Andrea Eimke, Madeline Thoman, Olga Ieromina,...) and others who attended as visitors (Jane Atkinson, Denise Watts). I was especially pleased to meet in person many colleagues from the international masterclass The Adventurous Lacemakers, where I have been working as one of the mentors this past year.
The hosts in Girona prepared a truly warm welcome, ensured excellent organization, and created numerous pleasant gatherings. I believe that the 1st Biennial of Contemporary Lace will remain in everyone's fond memory and that many more editions will follow in the coming years.