In Search of Quilt Inspiration with Jana Štěrbová – the exhibition “Was gibt’s Neues?”

December 16, 2025 / 10:14 AM

The German city of Chemnitz, selected as the European Capital of Culture 2025, hosted a major textile art exhibition in Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Under the leadership of curator Gudrun Heinz and museum director Marina Palm, a project was created featuring 30 European textile artists, including Jana Štěrbová representing the Czech Republic.

Author: Štěrbová, Jana – Kapří svět

n 2025, the German city of Chemnitz was selected as the European Capital of Culture, and one of the events connected with this title was an extensive textile art exhibition held at the Rennsport and Textile Museum in the nearby town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal. The exhibition was prepared over the course of two years under the leadership of curator Gudrun Heinz and museum director Marina Palm. Thirty European textile artists (28 women and 2 men) from six countries were invited to create an original quilt or textile installation especially for this occasion; Jana Štěrbová was invited to represent the Czech Republic.

Author: Merten, Rita – Ohnmacht

The title of the exhibition translates as “What’s New?”, and the extended brief was conceived accordingly – exploring what is new in today’s world, which issues are currently being addressed, how textile art is evolving, and which new materials, fibres, and substances can be used in textile objects.

In the first phase, the selected artists submitted proposals of their concepts, and once approved, the works were gradually completed. From spring 2025 onwards, the curators worked on site to design the placement of the artworks within the museum spaces and the adjacent former textile factory. The final installation thus offered not only traditional exhibition panels and museum walls, but also textile objects suspended among old weaving machines and three-dimensional works placed freely in the space.

Author: Kirchmair-Krismer, Evi – Gletscherschmelze

Over the course of two months, the exhibition was visited by more than 1,600 visitors, and it was also covered by regional television (the report is available on YouTube). The full visitors’ book testifies not only to strong public interest, but also to the way visitors responded to and commented on new ideas and directions in textile development.

Author: Bierbaumel-Bohle, Ursula, Am Rande der Sichtbarkeit – Frauen in Afghanistan

The artists addressed themes such as artificial intelligence and its potential influence on quilt design and techniques, environmental pollution, recycling, hectic lifestyles, and the use of unconventional materials. For my own quilt Carp World, I reportedly used – for the first time in a quilt – washed raw fish scales in their entirety, rather than punched-out shapes, which are traditionally used in South Bohemian clothing accessories. Together with a sequenced digital photograph of the Svět fishpond in Třeboň, I sought to express the contrast between the lively contemporary activity above the water’s surface and the quiet, disappearing world of carp below. The quilt will subsequently be acquired for the collection of the Museum of the Town of Třeboň.