Casa Regis
Centro per Cultura e Arte Contemporanea
I Sewed My Way Through the Dark: Contemporary Textile Art
An itinerary designed for the visually impaired
curated by L. Mikelle Standbridge
Opening April 19, 3PM
April 20 - June 14, 2026
guided tours and interactive events June 9 - 14
Ad occhi chiusi gli occhi sono straordinariamente aperti.
(When the eyes are closed, the eyes are extraordinarily open).
Marisa Merz
The upcoming exhibition, "I Sewed My Way Through the Dark: Contemporary Textile Art", held at Casa Regis - Center for Culture and Contemporary Art, hosts 12 international textile artists. Each artist carries a personal relationship to the materials they use, generating themes from ecological upcycling, to political resistance, to the contemplation of family tradition. The exhibition is designed to have a rich sensorial impact, offering an itinerary for a blindfolded general public, or for the visually impaired. Having worked closely with partner "Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired" (UICI) and Friends of the Library, many of the works are accompanied by interactive elements, heightening tactile, acoustic, or olfactory sensations.
Five of the artists included in the exhibition are from this area, in part due to the long standing interest in textile. Artist "Casa Clementina"- with decades of experience of dyeing naturally wool and silk for personal, artisan, or industrial research - designed an interactive artwork entitled, "Sentire il Colore"/"Feel-Smell the Color". The blindfolded or blind guests let the fragrances left from the plant dyes guide their hand in composing a color composition. Other local artists include Roberta Toscano (acoustic installation, "Sete"/"Silks"), Michela Cavagna ("Bedroom Wanderings" from historic cloth mattresses), Edith Maria Signoretti (light box "iFlowers" printed on cashmere), and Armando Riva (household rag-scraps, "Mono-Papin"), each engaged in personal scenarios where the material either invokes women's history, intimate challenges, or healing remedies.
Artists in the exhibition deeply rooted in experiential materiality of their installations - the making, the handling, the presence and body of the object - are English Alice Sheppard Fidler, American based in London Megan Segre, and Icelandic Ragnheiður Guðmundsdottir. Alice, based in a long standing practice of responding to spaces, works intuitively and spontaneously, creating site-specific environments from upcycled cloth, while Megan draws on the legacy of vertical loom weights to transform tools of labor into objects of reflection. Ragnheiður's invented felt animal hides are in direct relation to the Icelandic landscape.
Working from a conceptual foundation to approach the exhibition's theme, French artist Ekaterina Shcherbakova designed eye masks (hand stitched "Invisible") for sighted viewers to wear as they explore the different sensorial elements. April Dauscha is an American textile artist who also stages her works as they relate to the body, as seen in her photograph ("Communion"). As Dutch artist, Anneke Klein, already works in methodical and text-like geometric weavings, the working in of Braille into her patterns was a natural addition ("Sei la luce della mia vita" /"You are the light of my life"). Burmese artist Chuu Wai, a political refugee in France, carries the power of resistance against an oppressive regime through her work, using women’s skirts, (“htamein”) to tell the story of her country, where culture, gender, and defiance intertwine.
Distributed across two floors and 8 exhibition spaces, all of the artists in the show tackle the conundrum of how to recontextualize, subvert, or layer new meanings onto old forms saturated with associations. Instead of attempting to escape the historical and cultural connotations of their materials - which might include protection, warmth, domesticity, gender, labor, or fashion - the artworks engage directly with them, either fancifully or critically. The fascination behind the group show lies in the variety of approaches and new unexpected outcomes.
During the events, the songs and vocal improvisations by Welsh artist Bethan Dear will accompany visitors through the space.
***
Welcomed additions to the exhibition include the participation of the Association "Friends of the Civic Library of Biella", as they will be hosting poetry readings in conjunction with the tours. As mentioned above the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually impaired (UICI) also greatly guided the preparations and will play a significant role in the appreciation of the show, as the blind will be leading blindfolded seeing guests through the experience.
A special thanks to our technical partners Vitale Barberis Canonico, as well as Monica, Nicolò and Paolo Zanone for having donated wool cloth from their collections. Consorzio Biella, The Wool Company and Sfilacciatura Negro Biella also contributed materials and DocBi generously assisted in research. Interns from the University of Torino, Città Studi, greatly helped in all aspects of the preparation.
Furthermore, this exhibition, under the same title, I Sewed My Way Through the Dark: Contemporary Textile Art, will be held in parallel at the Milan based gallery, Gli Eroici Furori (www.furori.it). Opening June 2, at 6PM. The show remains from June 3-7, 2026.
Calendar
April 19th, 3PM. Opening
April 20 - June 14, 2026, the duration of the exhibition.
May 9 at 3PM. Guided blindfolded tours and/or regular visit.
May 16 at 3PM Guided blindfolded tours and/or regular visit.
June 2 at 6PM Opening in Milan, satellite exhibition, gallery Gli Eroici Furori, Show remains through the June 7th.
June 9 at 3PM visit dedicated to the Association of the Blind, accompanied by Bethan Dear's vocals. Poetry reading by Friends of the Library
June 13 at 3PM live streaming with New European Bauhaus, the blind leading sighted guests, blindfolded. Poetry reading by Friends of the Library. Accompanied by Bethan Dear's vocals.
June 14 at 3PM. Closing event. Accompanied by Bethan Dear's vocals.
Other visits are by appointment, and we are happy to accommodate.
