Thread Routes is a series of six films made by conceptual artist Kimsooja. Each shot on 16mm in a different part of the world over the course of a decade, and presented without dialogue, the films are poetic observations and soundscapes of textile cultures and craftspeople around the world. Composed of sequences of indigenous peoples in Peru, Europe, India, China, the American Southwest, and Morocco, and interspersed with shots of the landscapes and traditional structures in which artisans wield their craft, the films form subtle unifying correspondences between textiles and the sacred geometries and geographies in which they were made. A humanistic meditation on the nature of cultural objects and the performance of domestic labour—both themes long explored by the artist—Thread Routes form an intricate tapestry of gestures, voices, shapes, colours, and techniques, transporting viewers to worlds beyond the screen.

Kimsooja: Thread Routes—Chapters I–VI is conceived in dialogue with Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s–Now.

Currently based in Seoul, Kimsooja (b. 1957, South Korea) is a conceptual artist whose practice transcends distinctions of medium and form through works of painting, sewing, installation, performance, video, light, and sound. Her practice often engages with themes of the material and non-material, presence and absence, and migration and memory. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions in major international museums as well as site-specific installations, currently at Oude Kerk, Amsterdam (2025) and recently at Bourse de Commerce, Paris (2024). She has also been part of numerous biennials and triennials such as Documenta 14 (2017), Venice Biennale (2013, 2007, 2005, 2001, 1999), and the Gwangju Biennale (2012, 2000, 1995), among others.

Art at the Stair is a new exhibition series, showcasing moving image works from the M+ Collection and on loan. Presented at the Grand Stair, the exhibitions feature a variety of artistic approaches seen in both historical and contemporary works that connect with ongoing exhibitions in the museum.