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Newry & Mourne Museum has announced a programme of talks and workshops to accompany two new exhibitions looking at the region's textile and maritime heritage. The programme will examine the fashion and textile industries and their local and global environmental impact, spanning from the 17th century to the present day.
The events will run between Thursday 23 April and Saturday 9 May. Check out the full programme at Fashioned by Nature
The two new displays, 'Making Waves: Newry's maritime and mercantile history' and 'Flowering: the embroidering industry in the Mournes', form the backdrop to the series of events, which draws on the museum's own collection of costume, quilts and textiles to explore historical and contemporary attitudes to fashion, including recycling, upcycling, mending and making.
Among the events is a chance to see 'Brigid and the Brat Bhríde', a new textile piece created by Interwoven, a sub-group of the Dolmen Climate Change Network. St Brigid's cloak was woven from reclaimed materials collected from local beaches.
Textile artist Gillian Steel features in two parts of the programme. She will join local damask weaver Deborah Whitte in a workshop demonstrating mending and manufacturing techniques drawn from the museum's textile collection, with examples of mending, upcycling and adornment using both historic and contemporary methods. Steel will also deliver a talk titled 'The Exploding Wardrobe', exploring how our wardrobes offer an explosion of stories about our clothing, where it came from, who made it and how, and the potential to reconnect with a natural inclination to make, mend and reinvent.
Curator Shan McAnena will give a talk and lead a discussion on the embroiderers of the Irish linen industry, examining their influence on global fashion trends and the exploitation they faced, drawing comparisons with women working in clothing factories around the world today.
Charlotte McReynolds, curator of 'Ashes to Fashion: A Collection Reborn' and author of an accompanying book, will speak about the history of the Ulster Museum's fashion and textile collection. Her talk will explain how the original collection of over 10,000 items of dress and textiles was destroyed by fire in 1976 and how, 50 years on, it has been rebuilt from scratch.
A hands-on workshop with artist and filmmaker Kevin Cameon will give participants the opportunity to explore ideas about sustainability and the environment through stop-frame animation. Working in small teams using iPads, participants will create short animated films on the theme of fashion and sustainability, using clothing, waste materials and simple props to experiment with storytelling, animation techniques, editing and sound.
The programme as a whole uses the museum's collection to show visitors what their ancestors did and to ask what can be done today to address the environmental emergency caused by fast fashion, sharing stories, ideas and skills in the process.
To book contact Declan Carroll by email at Declan.Carroll@nmandd.org
