Scandinavia House, in partnership with New York Textile Month, is pleased to present the third iteration of NORDIC TEXTILE TAKEOVER, an exhibition, workshop series, and artist talks highlighting contemporary Nordic Textiles, coinciding with NY Textile Month in New York City. Featuring an exhibition in the Scandinavia House gallery, the program includes artist talks, a reception, and hands-on workshops. The exhibition opens on Friday, September 4, to Wednesday, September 16, 2026.

Featured Artists include:
Margrethe Aanestad (Norway)
Valgerður Bergsdottir (Iceland)
Ellen Dynebrink (Sweden)
Ragna Froda (Iceland)
Heidi Hankaniemi (Finland)
Ingunn Fjóla IngÞórsdóttir (Iceland)
Lee Jensen (Denmark)
Andrea Magdalena Jonsdottir (Iceland)
John K. Raustein (Norway)
Randi Samsonsen (Faroe Islands) 
Sunna Sigfríðardóttir (Iceland)
Nora Martine Hjelle Strand (Norway)
Thórunn Elísabet (Tótalisa) (Iceland)
Josabet Werkmäster (Sweden)
Mette Winckelmann (Denmark)
Kiyoshi Yamamoto (Norway) 

THE COLD STITCH is a Nordic textile collaboration project co-organized by Ragna Froda (ISL/US), Director of New York Textile Month, and Emily Stoddart (CA), Manager of Exhibitions and Community Programs at Scandinavia House, New York. The exhibition has been curated by Ragna Froda (ISL/US).

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Saturday, September 5th
2 PM: Curator Walkthrough with Ragna Froda

Tuesday, September 8th
5:30 PM: Basket Weaving with Lelia Bacchi

Saturday, September 12th
2 PM: Artist Talks: Nora Martine Hjelle Strand, Ingunn Fjóla IngÞórsdóttir, Thórunn Elísabet (Tótalisa)
Curator Walkthrough with Ragna Froda
4 PM: Reception

Sunday, September 13th
12–4 PM: Hand stitching workshop with Thórunn Elísabet (Tótalisa), Nora Martine Hjelle Strand, and Andrea Magdalena Jónsdóttir 

Wednesday, September 16th
3-6 PM: Artist Talk and Workshop with Heidi Hankaniemi
6-7 PM: Curator Walkthrough with Ragna Froda

ABOUT THE COLD STITCH

In the Nordic countries, stitching has long been more than decoration or domestic craft. It is a necessity, a form of storytelling, survival, memory, and care. In landscapes shaped by cold climates and long winters, textiles have become vessels of warmth, protection, repair, and continuity, carrying traces of everyday life and cultural identity across generations.

THE COLD STITCH brings together artists from across Scandinavia whose practices engage with textiles as both material and language. Through quilting, patchwork, collage, weaving, hand embroidery, sculptural textiles, and visible and invisible stitching, this exhibition explores how textile traditions have continued to evolve within contemporary art. The exhibition’s title refers both to the geography of the North, the relationship with textiles and the act of stitching itself.

A stitch repairs, connects, layers, and transforms. It binds fragments together while allowing histories, emotions, reflections on the political climate, and personal narratives to remain visible. Echoing this feature, many of the works in the exhibition embrace reuse and transformation, giving discarded fabrics, garments, yarns, and textile remnants new meaning through the artistic process.

THE COLD STITCH celebrates textile art as a living and evolving practice deeply rooted in the cultures of the North, where there is a strong tradition of working with textiles as an art form and where stitching continues to mend, preserve, and reimagine the world around us.

Banner image credit: Ellen Dynebrink, Kiyoshi Yamamoto, Nora Strand, Lee Jensen, and Heidi Hankaniemi