To celebrate the British Tapestry Group's 20th anniversary, we are organising a juried exhibition - Picking Up the Thread: The Past, Present and Future of Tapestry. Submissions for the exhibition are welcomed from Student and Full (including Rest of World) members of the British Tapestry Group.

The British Tapestry Group is a member organisation run by volunteers. Our aims are to

• Raise the profile of woven tapestry as a contemporary art form
• Increase awareness of the process and scope of woven tapestry
• Provide a support and communication network for artists working in woven tapestry
• Circulate information about exhibitions, events and commissions
• Offer opportunities in both national and regional exhibitions
• Provide information about weavers who teach and those who welcome visitors.

While being primarily a UK-focused organisation, we have an international membership that includes both amateur and professional weavers at different stages of their weaving career.

As well as being a national organisation, we have a number of regional groups providing connection between weavers at a more local level.

The British Tapestry Group is 20 years old in 2025! We are celebrating this event by holding a national, juried exhibition, with submissions welcomed from all Students and Full Members (inc Rest of World) of the BTG.

The exhibition is currently booked into four venues around the UK:

• Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries - 16th August to 4th October 2025
• Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh - 18th October 2025 to 14th February 2026
• Ocean Studios, Plymouth - 2nd to 18th March 2026
• Morley Gallery, London - 13th to 26th July 2026

The exhibition is juried, with entries being presented to the jurors anonymously.

BTG members (Student & Full, inc RoW)  can submit a maximum of three entries per artist, woven since January 2022.

If you are currently an Associate member, you can submit work if you upgrade your membership to Full promptly at the April 2025 renewal. 

If you are not currently  a BTG member, you can submit work if you join as a Full member promptly at the April 2025 start of the membership year.

Entries should consist of handwoven tapestry,  using discontinuous weft and being predominantly weft faced.

The maximum size for wall hung entries is 2 metres x 2 metres, with entries consisting of more than one part (eg triptych) not exceeding this in total. Sculptural/3D works are also welcomed.

For items to be displayed on a plinth, the size criteria is a maximum footprint of 50cm x 50cm and maximum height of 150cm.

For Floor standing work the maximum footprint is  100cm x 100cm  and maximum height of 200cm.

Please complete one submission form per artwork being submitted (maximum of three).

If you are submitting more than one piece of work, you may find it helpful to copy or write the key relevant text into a separate document, so you can then copy and paste into the form.

This can also help you keep track of word count where necessary.

You can save your form as a draft if needed, and complete it later, but please ensure you complete and send your submission before the deadline.

Please help us to keep the entries anonymous by not including your name in your Artist's statement or in the description of your work.

There is a submission fee of £15 for up to three pieces of work submitted and an additional charge of £20 per work accepted.

All fees contribute to the cost of running the exhibition.

The deadline for entries is Sunday 30th March 2025, midnight UK time (BST).

Full details of the submission criteria can be found in the FAQ section of this opportunity and in the member's area of the BTG website.