The RSN will be opening a major exhibition in central London early next year, the culmination of our exciting National Lottery Heritage Fund project, Fragile Threads. The free exhibition, called Nature’s Fragile Threads, will be on display at Bankside Gallery from 23 February to 7 March 2027 every day from 11am to 6pm and will include a variety of historical and contemporary embroideries and associated objects.

Fragile Threads spotlights needlework and its connection to the natural world. The aim is for embroidery to help highlight endangered species and to celebrate fragile ecosystems, raising awareness and inspiring action to preserve the planet’s extraordinary biological diversity. This project involves collaborating with conservation groups and educational and art establishments, inviting their communities to contribute their stitches to biodiversity-themed projects. A series of projects will teach participants new skills and help them better understand the fragility of their natural surroundings by embroidering their own biodiversity stories.

The project concludes with the Bankside Gallery exhibition, which will include show-stopping pieces from the RSN’s Collection and Archive spanning 400 years. Alongside these objects will be pieces made by the Fragile Threads partner organisations and contemporary embroideries made by those within the RSN community and outside of it. The exhibition highlights historical and contemporary connections between species and ecosystems and between needlework and its environment. As well as telling the story of biodiversity and biodiversity loss, the exhibition will suggest positive action for the future through embroidery.

We hope you will join us at Bankside Gallery between 23 February and 7 March next year!