BRNO PATCHWORK MEETING

Lovers of traditional patchwork, art quilts, and contemporary abstract textile work did not miss the chance to discover new trends at the Brno Exhibition Centre—this time, for the first time, in the beautiful Pavilion A1. The 17th edition of the Brno Patchwork Meeting featured around 30 galleries from individual artists and art collectives from all over the world. In total, 200 artists were represented, showcasing over 700 original quilts of various sizes, themes, and techniques. The exhibition attracted over 4,000 visitors.

Another charitable project during BPM was the initiative of the First Moravian Patchwork Club, whose members created handmade toys featuring animal motifs. On Sunday, Lenka Smetanová, a representative of the club, presented around 30 original toys to the Kociánka Center in Brno, which provides rehabilitation and educational services for children and adults with disabilities.

It is a competition exhibition of quilts, organized by BVV together with this year’s event partner, Hedva Český Brokát Rýmařov. The company not only provided the competing artists with unique floral brocades and other materials but also prepared prizes for the top three winners.

Art competitions are an inseparable part of BMP, and on the occasion of presenting awards to this year's winners, Artistic Director Jana Štěrbová announced the new themes: "For 2026, we have chosen Paper Piecing as the theme for the classcal competition. Since this technique is very demanding, it will be sufficient if one third of the quilt's surface is created using this method. For the creative competition aimed at modern art quilt artists, the theme for the following year will be 50 Shades. You can complement it with your favorite color, meaning we expect monochromatic quilts."

Jana Dohnalová, the newly crowned winner of the creative competition In the Circle, has been working with patchwork for over 10 years. She is taking home the grand prize — a sewing machine from Haišman worth over 32,000 CZK — to her village near Brno.

The gallery of Hall A was filled with dozens of textile artworks and quilts entered into two prestigious competitions held as part of the 17th International Creative and Textile Exhibition, Brno Patchwork Meeting. An expert international jury, composed of foreign gallerists, lecturers, and certified judges, selected and awarded the top six pieces in each competition — both creative and clasiccal.

Kněží hora Winery is located in Bzenec, in the heart of Moravian Slovácko, and proudly continues the region’s rich winemaking tradition, which dates back to the 17th century. The winery’s name refers to a vineyard once owned by the Jesuits, who were renowned for their emphasis on quality and tradition.

When a good idea meets a noble purpose, textile art takes on an entirely new dimension. One such example is the creation of quilted pillow covers undertaken by the Bohemian Patchwork Club from Prague. On Saturday, the club’s chairwoman, Anna Králíková, handed over the pillows and other gifts to Petra Hnátová, a representative of the organization Cesty životem bez bariér (Journey Through Life Without Barriers). Petra traveled from Kutná Hora to the Brno Exhibition Center to collect the gifts, which will be presented to children in wheelchairs during a special sports awards ceremony.

The artistic director of the exhibition, Jana Štěrbová, is very pleased with the atmosphere of the exhibition hall. “I have been to many world exhibitions, and there is no place that offers such an intensity of gently diffused daylight, which is absolutely the best for showcasing colors and the work with colors. It’s one of the main criteria when creating a textile piece,” she said. How does she select the works, what is the most challenging part, what special exhibits were brought this year, and what were the beginnings like? That was the topic of our following interview.