Women and textile art in Alicante
The bulk of visitors to this exhibition comes from an appreciation of embroidery, fabrics, and sewing. It reflects a family and social tradition kept alive through art, blending historic methods with contemporary techniques and disciplines. The aim is to challenge stereotypes by highlighting textile art as a powerful voice for women’s communities and identity. The exhibition, organized by the Alicante Culture Department and Espacio Seneca, opens today with 17 female artists—16 Spaniards and one Mexican—presenting knitting, embroidery, crochet, and needlework. Knitting is shown not only as a craft but as a statement against gendered restrictions and marginalization in many places. It is described as a show about women, feminism, and identity, according to María Ortega, the artist and curator. The collection brings together 40 works.
Appearing in the 60s through the 80s, feminist movements used embroidery as a tool of resistance. The practice faded for a decade before reawakening. Since 2000 textile art biennials have emerged in China, Latin America, Riga, the USA, and Korea. The curator notes that when they began 20 years ago, people were unsure what textile art was, but now there are many artists blending traditional techniques with modern approaches.
Women overcoming barriers
Aurelia Masanet, Ana Musma, Carmen Castañeda, Concha Romeru, Elisa Ortega, Estefanía Martínez, Lucía Loren, Natalia Auffray, María Muñoz, María Gimeno, María Ortega, Maribel Domenech, Maite Ortega, Sonia Navarro, Susana Guerán Anaya are among the artists in the sample. The cultural consultant Antonio Manresa notes that these women overcome barriers and that visitors will be impressed by the exhibition itself, not merely by descriptive talk.
For Aurelia Masanet, a lifelong textile artist whose career began with a family textile mill in Alcoy, the show demonstrates what is being produced today. She presents works made with tissue paper and metallic fibers, illustrating the breadth of contemporary textile practice.
There is a voice that speaks through textiles and a voice that is silenced. This is the title of an installation by Susana Guerrero of Elche, which uses braided cables as material. For Guerrero, textile work is another instrument, a companion in the studio often likened to penelopetherapy—a process of inward reflection and hypnotic rhythm.
Murcian Mayte Ortega recalls watching her grandmother sew and embroider, producing three pieces herself. Her grandmother never taught her, because sewing was historically a necessity for women. When she later moved to Madrid, she pursued embroidery lessons, a rare opportunity at the time, and carried those techniques into her own creative practice.
Different conversations
In addition to desk-based work, Main MusmaStraitjacket, a knitted toilet-paper installation, and a group project were part of a June 10 session that explored collaborative making.
The exhibition also features Stephanie Martinez in illustration, drawing, and embroidery, and Maribel Domenech’s installation of 100 light bulbs and a narrative about femicides and their impact, with a found-object box and imagery representing victims and children.
Sarah Navarro uses esparto grass to create striking volumes and Elisa Ortega develops an organism-inspired form from recycled underwear and wood.
Carmen Castaneda works with haute couture embroidery to weave delicate textures and construct spaces that experiment with the amount of material used in each area.
Maria Gimeno addresses the situation of Afghan women under the Taliban through an ongoing textile project that counts the deaths resulting from the conflict.
Curator and artist Maria Ortega built a destroyed house using feather bricks that invite and protect visitors. Maria Munoz presents threads on spools bearing different faces. Lucia Loren reinterprets the needle as a tool of symbolic reassembly in a hanging installation, while shell Romeu reuses her mother’s sheets and dyes them with thread after her passing.
Yosi Anaya from Mexico works with indigenous communities using natural dyes, while Natalia Auffray focuses on memory work through recycled materials.
The entrance also showcases other works by several artists. The exhibition runs until July 2.