COLLECTIVE STITCHES FOR NEW PERSPECTIVES ON PARTICIPATORY TEXTILE ART

| by Nikola Filipovic |

There was a moment when I stopped thinking of my work as something I should personally sign and began to see it as a collective gesture. Textile art and traditional techniques have taken centre stage in my research. I first got into textile practices during my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, where I started exploring the expressive possibilities of fabric. I began by working with felt, drawn to its texture and the way it can create both flat surfaces and soft, sculptural forms. Later on, I discovered embroidery, and I was really struck by how slow and meditative the process is—it gives you time to think and reflect as you work. By using and reinterpreting historical designs, patterns, and materials, I aim to build a visual language rooted in tradition yet open to new narratives. My focus lies in how these techniques can be reimagined through active collaboration with communities and artisans who continue to preserve this knowledge.

This attention to the past is not driven by nostalgia, but by a desire to explore. Honouring tradition means engaging directly with those who carry it forward: artisans, elders, and local communities. Dialogue with them is crucial, not only to maintain the integrity of traditional practices but also to ask myself what truly deserves preservation, and what can evolve. Collaboration and listening have become central to my process, not only in explicitly participatory projects but also in my individual practice. I am now more open to discussion, to criticism, and to embracing outside perspectives as opportunities for growth rather than threats to my vision. Learning to accept critique has also helped me be less severe with myself, viewing limitations as fertile ground for ongoing inquiry.

A pivotal experience in this transformation was my involvement in the Atelier Trame Tinte d’Arte, a textile workshop at the Museo della Civiltà Contadina in San Marino di Bentivoglio, a small town near Bologna. This museum, one of the first community museums in the world, immediately struck me for its deep local involvement. In a town of fewer than a thousand inhabitants, every event becomes a shared moment. Participatory dinners, workshops, and community gatherings revealed to me the profound value of mutual care, solidarity, and being both supported and supportive. At the Atelier, we work to strengthen these bonds by building networks through textile practices, connecting generations, and creating spaces where ancient knowledge can be taught, rediscovered, and passed on.

In September 2024, I took part in the artistic residency Tessere Arte, organized by Ottovolante Sulcis in Sant’Antioco, Sardinia. There, I created the piece Esiste i draghi in Sardegna in collaboration with local artisan Graziella Floris. It was my first encounter with Sardinian filet, a technique I had never worked with before. Graziella not only taught me the basics, but also joined me in a real process of co-research: we began with traditional motifs and gradually developed new ones inspired by the surrounding landscape. I would propose ideas, she would help translate them into the visual language of filet, balancing innovation with respect for tradition.

One day, while looking at a dragon motif, I jokingly asked her, “Do dragons really exist in Sardinia?” She replied, “Only in the minds of embroiderers.” That phrase became the title of the work and perfectly captured the spirit of our collaboration – two people of different generations, backgrounds, and cultures finding a common language rooted in trust, listening, and compromise. This experience taught me the value of letting go of control and embracing another person’s vision, even when it differs from my own.

In April 2025, I joined the Semi nel Vento residency in Bovino (FG), organized by Netural Coop. There, I worked on a large tablecloth with nine women from the local community, using punto a giorno, a traditional hand embroidery technique typical of local bridal trousseaus. Initially, the scale of the project was intimidating, but as the days went by, participants began suggesting changes and adding personal touches, enriching the work in both complexity and meaning.

However, the most powerful part of the experience was the act of sharing. Hand embroidery is a slow, meditative practice that creates room for dialogue, storytelling, and connection. Working together, hands in motion and voices in conversation, we created an informal yet deeply meaningful space of intergenerational learning. From this experience, I gained a new understanding: communities hold immense, often untapped potential for creativity and collaboration. Sometimes, all it takes is the right environment for these energies to surface. I saw firsthand how powerful people can be when they choose to act together, not waiting for change, but creating it themselves.

In May 2025, I participated in Feltrosa, a beloved annual festival dedicated to felt and textile art. During my hand embroidery workshop, I met people with extraordinary stories -from a woman who once attended Woodstock to another who toured the world with a puppet theater. Feltrosa is a space where friendships form around shared practice, manual skills, and knowledge exchange. I witnessed how communities can self-organize in emotionally meaningful and lasting ways, renewing connections year after year, even as the festival moves from place to place. Here, love for a technique becomes a unifying force – a foundation for community and collective growth.

I now believe that participation is not just a method or artistic strategy, but a powerful tool for social and cultural transformation. By working directly with artisans, community members, and the public, the artist enters into a dialogue that exceeds the traditional boundaries of the studio or gallery. Participation turns the artistic process into a shared journey, one that builds social bonds and helps cultivate communities in the deepest sense: not merely groups of people, but networks of exchange, trust, and mutual care. In this sense, participatory art generates transformation not just in its final form, but in the human relationships it forms and renews.

These experiences have taught me that what truly matters is not only the finished piece but the process that leads to its creation. A collective journey – shaped by listening, openness, error, and revision often results in works that are richer both aesthetically and conceptually. Sometimes the outcome diverges from my initial vision, but that divergence becomes a gift, a new perspective. Today, participation is no longer just a method for me, it has become a core language in my artistic practice, one that continues to evolve.

In recent years, my way of making art has changed or perhaps transformed into something that is no longer just about me. The voice I seek now speaks increasingly through the voices of others.

Nikola Filipović (Montenegro, 1994) è un artista visivo specializzato in arte tessile. Si è formato all’Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna, dove ha conseguito la Laurea Magistrale in Decorazione per l’Architettura, includendo un’esperienza Erasmus a Varsavia, dove si è specializzato in tecniche tessili sperimentali e tradizionali. Nel 2024 ha lavorato come assistente alla didattica nello stesso corso. Vincitore di vari premi, ha partecipato a numerose mostre e progetti di residenza in Italia e all’estero. Attualmente vive a Bologna e collabora come artista e ricercatore con Trame Tinte d’Arte, atelier tessile del Museo della Civiltà Contadina di San Marino di Bentivoglio (BO).

Nikola Filipović (Montenegro, 1994) is a visual artist specializing in textile art. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, where he earned a Master’s degree in Decoration for Architecture, including an Erasmus experience in Warsaw, where he specialized in experimental and traditional textile techniques. In 2024, he worked as a teaching assistant in the same program. A recipient of several awards, he has taken part in numerous exhibitions and artist residencies in Italy and abroad. He currently lives in Bologna and collaborates as an artist and researcher with Trame Tinte d’Arte, the textile atelier of the Museum of Peasant Farming Culture in San Marino di Bentivoglio (BO).