Du renouveau des travaux d’aiguille jusqu’à l’émergence d’un Art textile aujourd’hui (1970-2026) (French)

Since the 1970s, with the rise of increased leisure time, the question of how to spend it has come to the forefront. Among the activities that developed during this period, “creative hobbies” gained significant momentum. In France, the magazine 100 idées played a key role in popularizing needlework—embroidery (particularly cross-stitch), patchwork, weaving, knitting, and sewing—presented as accessible to everyone. Throughout this talk, Nathalie Bresson will explore this period up to the present day, where textile practices have diversified, techniques intersect, and what is now referred to as “textile art” begins to take shape. Claimed by some, this field still has fluid boundaries, especially in France, where the divide between craft and Fine Art remains pronounced.

Nathalie Bresson

Nathalie Bresson

Nathalie Bresson has devoted her career to needlework, with a particular focus on cross-stitch. Her work spans practice as well as the creation of clubs and associations, journalism, sociology, and the history of needlework and women. She is also the author of La France au fil de l’aiguille (2002), Patchwork: Contre-cultures (2019), and several other publications.