Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa

Department of Exhibition Organization

The department is engaged in exhibition organization, which, apart from basic function, contributed to expansion of the museum collection due to acquests and donations. In co-operation with other departments of the museum, other museums, galleries, institutions promoting visual arts via exhibitions, artists and private persons in Poland and abroad, it plans, prepares and organizes various kinds of exhibitions and shows in the building of the museum as well as in other cultural institutions in Poland and abroad.

Throughout 50 years of its activity the Central Museum of Textiles organized ca. 900 various types of exhibitions. In fact, there were over 1 000, but due to lacking documentation (especially during the first two decades of Museum’s activity, when the interest in textile art in Poland and in the world was especially intense), it is hard to tell precisely as the number of displays.

Judging from information taken from various sources (archives, publications, “copybooks”, “folders” of exhibitions, reviews and press releases) the Museum organized in its own building almost 434 exhibitions of various Polish groups and art individualities as well as “imported” 119 from abroad. It exported to museums and galleries 123 presentation of the Polish art. Apart from foreign exhibitions, the Museum prepared 219 exhibitions, mainly from its own collection. The characteristic element is the fact that throughout the years, exhibition activity remains on the same level – 20 exhibitions per year (25% of this number are foreign presentations). Recently, due to the increased space results in a bigger number of exhibitions.

The department is engaged in technical realization of presentations – mounting and dismounting, packing and unpacking, transport and re-transport, preparation of the documents required by customs offices (participation in customs procedures included) as well as managing correspondence concerning national and foreign exhibitions. These are usually solo and group shows. The underlying themes are varied, but they usually concentrate around fibre art.

The structure of the department includes the Visual Art Studio, which is responsible for computer development of designs, graphic layouts of publications, supervising “reproduction” (the Museum is not always in a position to commission publications in professional printing firms. Therefore we use then our own reprographic equipment), editing invitations, posters, information leaflets and catalogues of exhibitions and selected events, collecting and editorial work with the materials, which will be used for writing introduction texts, biographies, lists or specifications of exhibits, translations, illustrations and photographs as well as exhibition design of some of the shows organized in the Museum. Prints designed in the studio were several times awarded at national reviews-competitions of the Polish museum posters.

An especially important element of the work of the department is the activity of the organizational Bureau of the International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź. 136 artists from 51 countries participated in the last edition, 12^th International Triennial of Tapestry in 2007. 14 000 visitors came to see it. The main Triennial exhibition was accompanied by 110 associated events, both Polish and foreign. The collection of the Central Museum of Textiles acquired 32 donations – outstanding works of art. The opening of the next, 13^th International Triennial of Tapestry will take place on 13^th of May 2010.

40 years long history of the International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź – in view of the non-existing International Biennial of Tapestry in Lausanne and International Textile Competition in Kyoto – has grown to be the most prestigious fibre art exhibition, a confrontation of textile artists from all over the world. This international event has established the position of many Polish artists, ex.: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Włodzimierz Cygan, Jolanta Owidzka, Urszula Plewka-Schmidt, Wojciech Sadley, Jolanta Rudzka-Habisiak and Konrad Zych as well as promoted the output of numerous foreign artists.

Jolanta Piwońska
Senior Curator
Head of Department of Exhibition Organization