The Knitting Map - a giant piece of knitting, constructed over 365 days by more than 2,500 women from 22 different countries, primarily from working-class backgrounds - began as a project about the process of making, but quickly became the subject of national controversy in Ireland after its unveiling. Textiles, Community and Controversy takes this tennis-court sized piece of art and uses it as a central case study to examine the social, philosophical and critical issues surrounding contemporary textile art today, which opens up new ways of thinking about their role in establishing - or dividing - community, in addition to their contribution to feminist artistic practice. Reading this case study, one that is central to Irish art history, and putting it into the context of feminist, artists such as Judy Chicago, Faith Ringold and the Guerilla Girls, this collection of critical essays explores key issues in wider textile practice such as gender, class, nation, technology, performance and community. Also exploring other textile art practices, such as knitting in public, or knitting with multiple hands, the book brings together some of the best-known contemporary thinkers in the field of textile ah and feminism, such as art critic Lucy Lippard and textile scholars Jessica Hemmings and Joanne Turney. A timely contribution to debates about contemporary textile art, it will be of interest to students of fine art and textiles, in addition to textile art researchers and artists. Book jacket.