The festival takes place at Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ontario, Canada and organized and curated by Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate. Our 2023 artists come from Canada, England, Finland, France, Hungary, India, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Uruguay, USA, US Virgin Islands and Wales.
Download the Brochure for the last festival
World of Threads Festival 2025
We're planning to have the next Festival in fall 2025. Dates to be established. Subscribe here for updates...
On our website, Festival Organizers and Curators Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate have built a comprehensive archive of 135 interviews with some of the most exciting fibre artists in the world. We have become a unique hub for fibre and textile art with a current following in 99 countries. Follow us on Instagram @worldofthreads and like our Facebook Page. When sharing artworks and exhibitions on your social media please credit the artists and curators by name. Tag them if possible. Use #worldofthreads and #worldofthreadsfestival.
Synchronistic Curating:
Something that’s different about World of Threads Festival is that we let the art guide us. Festival curators Gareth Bate and Dawne Rudman don’t have predetermined curatorial ideas or impose concepts on the artists. Each new festival is a blank slate. Shows develop entirely out of the submissions we receive. For Festival 2023 we looked through over 3500 images and hundreds of submissions to develop these shows. We looked for connections and common themes. Often artists are on the same wavelength during a particular period. Over time, the exhibition themes emerged and became clear to us. This method has been very successful and has resulted in compelling and unique exhibitions over many years. We are excited to finally share these new shows with you.
Awards
2023 Ontario Culture Days:
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
Acknowledging exceptional achievement and recognising accomplishments of the World of Threads Festival.
2016
Community Spirit Arts Award:
Dawne Rudman
Recognizing an individual that through their volunteerism has made an invaluable contribution to the Oakville community and contributed to nurturing and enhancing the arts.
2015 Community Impact Arts Award:
Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate
Recipients for bringing global attention to Oakville and elevating the fibre/textile art form around the world.
2007 Community Spirit Award for
Volunteerism in the Arts: World of Threads Festival
2007 Oakville Volunteers of the Year:
Dawne Rudman