Participate in Ties:
Be part of the 2026 Adelaide Fringe Festival
Thank you to everyone who has submitted an application to be part of Ties. We have are thrilled with the response. Applications have now closed.
We invite you to contribute to our next community exhibition showcasing works that explore the art and process of knotting. Presented as part of the 2026 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Ties will showcase a wide range of knotting techniques, traditions, ideas and representations found in visual art, textile crafts and trade practices.
We encourage traditional, conceptual, playful, representational and experimental approaches to the theme of knotting. This is an opportunity to consider the history, culture and symbolism of knotting: the Celtic knot; the ancient practice of Chinese knotting; Mizuhiki (Japanese gift knotting); the precision of 18th century lace; the colonial knot; sturdy and dependable marine knots; the depiction of knots; the creative repurposing of existing knots and much more.
How to be involved:
Contribute 1-2 artworks made by using one or more knotting techniques or alternatively representing the knot using a visual art technique.
You can submit an artwork made from actual knots using knotting techniques such as macrame, tatting, netting, colonial, French or tassel knotting, Amish rug knotting, button knots, marine, jewellery and other trades related knotting techniques. Consider using fibre-based thread, yarn, cord, rope, paper, as well as other upcycled materials such as soft plastics and metal.
We also welcome artworks that visually communicate the knot or knotting techniques through drawing, painting, photography, print-making, digital media, collage or mixed media.
Each artwork must be 18 – 60 centimetres in height and width or diameter, and up to 8 centimetres in depth.
Key dates
- Registrations close: 5pm Monday 8 December 2025
- Acknowledgement of participation: Friday 11 December 2025
- Artwork delivery: Tuesday 10 February 2026
- Exhibition opening: Sunday 22 February 2026
- Exhibition duration: Wednesday 18 February – Sunday 10 May 2026*
*FABRIK is open from Wednesday to Sunday 11am – 4pm
Enquires are welcome at fabrik@ahc.sa.gov.au
Images above: Slide one – Left: Dai Trang Nguyen, Becoming (detail), 2024, mixed media on canvas. Photo by James Field. Top, middle and bottom right: FABRIK image library. Slide two – Left, middle bottom and right: FABRIK image library. Slide three – Left: Donna Gordge Untitled (detail) 2025, altered pipe cleaners, mid fire clay. Top middle: Catherine Buddle, Fathom (detail). Top right: FABRIK image library.
Images below: Top left: Catherine Buddle, Fathom (detail), 2015. FABRIK image library.
Images are indicative only. Please use your own artistic interpretation of ties to create your artworks.
