Fashions take the spotlight at museum gallery

Bankfield Museum has been successful in securing The Textile Society’s prestigious Museums, Archive and Conservation Award, which is designed to support textile related projects.

The museum will receive the full £5,000 available from the society. In previous years this has been shared between projects.

The funding will be used for a number of activities in the opening of the new Fashion Gallery at Bankfield, including essential research and conservation work on historic textile pieces.

A range of seminars and workshops will also be organised helping to put Bankfield on the map as a destination for fashion and textile students, or anyone with a keen interest in fashion.

In addition to this, a new publication in the internationally regarded research series, Bankfield Museums Notes, will also be produced.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhood Services, Coun Susan Press, said: “It’s a real achievement that Bankfield Museum has been successful in securing the £5000 award from The Textile Society, joining the illustrious list of previous winners.

“Calderdale Museums have one of the finest textile collections in the country and the award will allow us to establish Bankfield Museum as an exciting fashion venue, displaying world class collections for everyone to enjoy.”

Bankfield’s extensive textile collection began when the museum opened in 1887 and now contains over 17,000 objects, collected from all over the world.

The collection includes objects from Ancient Egypt, The Balkans, China, and Japan.

It also features a range of English embroidery, samplers, costume, court dress, military uniforms, pattern books from West Yorkshire manufacturers and the design archive of Crossley’s Carpets.

The collection will be showcased in the new Fashion Gallery, which is due to open in May 2019 and will occupy the whole top floor of the museum.