Collection
Department of Education
The department is responsible for promotion activities, organization of lessons in museum, lectures, meetings, workshops and competition.
The employees of the department act as guides explaining to individual visitors or organized groups the activity of the museum, especially the exhibitions, which are on show. The department works within the framework of the programme “Cultural heritage of the region” elaborated on the basis of the programme of school interdisciplinary paths. The Museum and its collection, the White Factory as the historical seat as well as the Open-air Museum of the Łódź Wooden Architecture form a wonderful fundament, upon which schoolchildren can build their awareness of the achievements and historical monuments of Łódź and its region. The museum lessons are conducted with schoolchildren from various types of schools and consider themes and subjects, which refer – as an example – to the history of industrial Łódź, beginnings and development of textile industry in the Polish Kingdom, the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, old textile tools and machines, textile techniques and technologies, the contemporary tapestry and decorative textiles, handicrafts (laces and embroideries) as well as to the issues related to fashion and accessories and their transformations throughout the 20th century. Thematic workshops play and important role in the educational programme. Young people learn about techniques of fibre art and crafts widely understood (weaving on frames, printed textiles, appliqués, felt, laces, embroidery). Such workshops are often supported by participation of artists, especially from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design.
The department organizes the cycle of exhibitions “Visits in the Museum”, part of which are national reviews of the Polish arts and crafts – the National Exhibition of the Polish Cross-Stitch Embroidery by Amateur Artists (with the mains prize “Golden Needle” awarded by the museum for the best embroidery artist) as well as the National Exhibition of the Polish Arts and Crafts “From Ariadna’s Thread” and the National Exhibition of the Embroidery “Inspiring with Colour”. These are extremely popular exhibitions – competitions among both participating artists as well as handicraft friends (the number of visitors ranges from 12 0000 to 15 000 people). Apart from exhibitions of national character we also organize individual presentations of artists who pursue lace and embroidery as well as exhibitions, which display creative achievements of schoolchildren who take part in thematic educational programmes. Since 1996, when the programme was initiated, the department organized 40 such presentations.
Since 1992 the department announces an art competition entitled “The International Triennial of Tapestry seen by Young People”. Several thousand pupils from Łódź and the region took part in 6 editions of the competition. The best competition works are submitted to the National Polish Art Competition for Children and Young People “My adventure in museum” organized by the District Museum in Toruń under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of National Education. The jury always qualifies them to the main competition.
The educational programme “The contemporary tapestry” elaborated by the department was awarded by the Minister of Culture in the competition “The Museum Event of the Year”. Other interesting realizations are: competition “The White Factory in the past and present day” (history), “The Magic of Colours. Printed textiles, appliqués and felt” (visual arts), “The White Factory seen in objective” (photography). Several hundred schoolchildren participated in each of them and competition exhibitions were extremely popular.
The department works in co-operation with the Association of Embroidery Friends “Groundwork” with the seat in the museum as well as other associations of arts and crafts in Łódź and in Poland. The department also organizes lectures and classes for the participants of the University of Third Age.
Barbara Bator
Senior Curator