Wangaratta Art Gallery is thrilled to announce the 34 artists and groups selected for Petite Miniature Textiles 2026, one of the gallery’s most popular and significant exhibitions.

Petite Miniature Textiles is a biennial exhibition showcasing innovative small-scale textile practice from across Australia and forms an important part of Wangaratta Art Gallery’s program, reflecting its longstanding emphasis on contemporary textile art.

The exhibition also echoes the history of textiles in Wangaratta and the continuing textile story of the region.

This year, 46 works were selected from a highly competitive field of over 280 entries by Guest Curator Cara Johnson, an artist and previous Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award finalist.

The selected artists and groups for Petite Miniature Textiles 2026 are: Phoebe Beard, Claire Birbeck, John Brooks, Catherine Buddle, Benjamin Chevalier, Nicole Clift, Alana Clifton-Cunningham, Melanie Cobham, Fiona Currey-Billyard, Kasia Dudkiewicz, Anna Dunnill, Steph Everett, Belinda Farinaccia, Eli Giannini, Timothy Gresham, Michelle Hamill, Megan Kennedy, Sara Lindsay, Deborah McHugh, Juanita McLauchlan, Bhanu Mistry, Janette Murrungun, Third Object, Mary-Rose Riley, Miriam Sharp, Demelza Sherwood, Bec Smith, Lahni Thavarajah, Chop Thom, Cheryl Thornton, Lois Waters, Jessye Wdowin-McGregor, Erica Wells and Melinda Young.

Guest curator Cara Johnson said the selection process was both rewarding and challenging.

“I would like to sincerely thank all the artists who submitted work for Petite Miniature Textiles 2026, and Wangaratta Art Gallery, I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of bringing this exhibition together," she said.

"Sensitivity, and the care that ran through the entries made this an incredibly difficult process, it was a great privilege to be able to spend time looking at each entry.

"Whittling down to just 46 works from over 280 required dedicated looking, and careful consideration of how the works spoke to each other as a whole show.

"The theme ‘in the detail’ can been understood and explored in many ways, from deep observation, material centred process and endless conceptual threads, but for me it is about taking care of every element of the work from thought, to making, to resolution.

"The selected artists responded to this idea in beautiful and innovative ways, demonstrating how smaller works can hold great power, and encourage us to take notice.”

Following its presentation at Wangaratta Art Gallery, Petite Miniature Textiles 2026 will tour to JamFactory Seppeltsfield, South Australia, where it will be exhibited from 5 February – 25 April 2027, extending the reach of this celebrated exhibition to new audiences.

Wangaratta Art Gallery director Rachel Arndt said the exhibition continues to attract strong national interest.

“Petite Miniature Textiles has developed a strong national following, and Wangaratta Art Gallery is one of only a few galleries internationally to present a dedicated miniature textile exhibition on a biennial basis," she said.

"The opportunity to tour the exhibition to JamFactory Seppeltsfield is an exciting next chapter for the project, extending its reach to new audiences and placing contemporary Australian textile practice within a leading national craft and design context.

"We are delighted to be working with JamFactory and to see the selected artists’ works presented in South Australia following their presentation here in Wangaratta.”

Petite Miniature Textiles 2026 will open on 27 June at Wangaratta Art Gallery.