The exhibition *Afsluiten / Ontsluiten* (*Closing / Opening Up*) at the Archive was conceived by Marie Claire Gellings and also marks her farewell to the academy after more than two decades of teaching. Textiles lie at the heart of the project. As a material, fabric embodies memory, identity, and time, encompassing what we wear, touch, and preserve. Textiles connect craftsmanship with concept, intimacy with space, and the everyday with the symbolic.
The participants—Marie Claire Gellings, Iris Bruining, Gabrielle van Klaveren, Olivia Lichtenveldt, Marjolein van den Eijnden, Deniz Demir, Lilian de Rek, Thijmen Burgerhout, Lin Alleman, Alysa Groeneveld, and Sandim Mendes—each present their own interpretation of textiles: as poetry, process, or political material.
Curator Delany Boutkan opens the exhibition, where diversity, tactility, and rhythm converge in a visually layered presentation.