BALTIC MINI TEXTILE GDYNIA ? former International Baltic Mini Textile Triennial (48 objects)

The youngest of the four significant mini textile reviews in Europe. It is comparable to the prestigious international competitions of this kind in Szombathely (Hungary), Angres (France) and Como (Italy). In 2018, there was the 25^th anniversary of the competition. In 2016, the jubilee 10^th edition took place.

This collection presents the works from the 8^th and 9^th edition which provides an opportunity to study the changes and development of textile miniature has gone through in various periods and places in the world.

The competition was launched in 1993. Aleksandra Bibrowicz-Sikorska, an artist from Gdynia, was its initiator and originator. The first exhibitions of competition entries were organised on Dar Pomorza (branch of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk).

Thanks to Professor Andrzej Zbierski, in 1999 the Gdynia City Museum joined the project. The exhibition on board ?Biała Fregata? was complemented by additional exhibits in the museums and galleries of Pomerania. Then, the Gdynia Museum started a series of solo presentations of the the Mayor of Gdynia GRAND PRIX winners.

Since 2001, the Gdynia Triennial has been accompanying the International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź. As a result of the cooperation which started in 2004, the exhibition of mini textiles is also presented in the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź after it finishes in Gdynia.

In 2007, the Gdynia City Museum assumed the function of the event’s main organiser and since then, every three years, the competition entries are presented in its exhibition rooms.

The unique character of the Gdynia event consists in the fact that its participants leave gifts for the museum ? their miniature works which have already formed a rather large collection of over 300 pieces.

The collection we are sharing consists of miniature textile works which comply with the competition?s size requirements of 20 x 20 cm and accordingly 20 x 20 x 20 cm for 3D pieces. The pieces are not fragments of larger works or cycle elements. They are small format works aimed for reinterpretation. The complete artefacts of small size are meant for contemplation and reflection.