ETN-Artists in Residence
at the Textile Centre Haslach, AT
05.08 – 15.08.2025

Report by Christina Leitner (Haslach Textile Centre)

From August 5th to 15th, four textile artists were invited as artists in residence at the Haslach Textile Centre. They were selected from over 40 applications following an open call by ETN.

The goal of the program is to make the infrastructure of the Textile Centre Haslach available to people who have the basic technical knowledge to pursue their own projects as independently as possible and who want to intensively engage with their work for two weeks.

This year, we welcomed four artists, some of whom have travelled extensively:

◾ BATCHIMEG BAYARAA from Mongolia worked with dobby weaving, developing multi-layered wool fabrics, which she gave three-dimensionality by partially cutting open individual layers. She also experimented with materials and structures on a sample loom with eight dobby shafts, testing various weaves to create transparent, white fabrics.

◾ TOMOYO TSURUMI from Japan, who currently lives in London, intensively studied the sample books and historical fabric samples in the museum's textile archive and developed transparent fabrics on the electronically controlled Jacquard loom that referenced the historical pattern motifs. While all the threads in the motifs were tightly interwoven, only a few threads were woven into grid-like structures for the background. The other, floating threads had to be cut away by hand to expose the motifs – almost like an archaeological process.

◾ AMY LEWIS from the Netherlands, on the other hand, used the new TC2 hand Jacquard loom at the Textile Centre Haslach to create robust, geometric-looking fabrics whose long floats were partially cut open after weaving. The plying of multiple yarns and the processing of various leftover materials resulted in beautiful colour interplay and material effects that contribute to a special tactile experience of the fabrics.

◾ LISA STOLLNBERGER from Austria was at home in the tufting studio. She created a large tapestry inspired by aerial photographs of rivers, and she also made several smaller tufted pieces, some square, some circular, that incorporated motifs from Haslach and the current special exhibition "Colourful Elements" at the Haslach Textile Centre. She experimented with different pile heights, looped and cut piles, and delved deeply into the possibilities of the tufting technique.

Elisabeth Stötzler, Ingrid Hackl, Andreas Selzer, and Christina Leitner from the Haslach Textile Centre provided technical support. It was wonderful to see how the four different artists delved deeper into their working methods and became more and more of a group over the course of the days. The cultural exchange, cooking various dishes from different countries in their shared apartment, walks, and explorations in the small weaving village rounded out the stay.

On the final evening, the results of the residency were presented to interested locals. In the coming weeks, the artists will also send a follow-up report on their time in Haslach, which we will also publish on the ETN website.

The next ETN residency in Haslach is planned for 2026. Further Information will follow.