BANKFIELD MUSEUM, HALIFAX

Went to Bankfield Museum in Halifax today and had a lovely time. When we approached the place I was slightly sceptical but as soon as we entered the building you were transported into textile heaven!! The exhibits were seperated into different rooms with a private exhibition for Dionne Swift in the entrance which was next to the World of Textiles which was very exciting. Upstaires there was costumes and textiles from around the world.

The overall feel was that the exhibits were well displayed and the lighting was adequate but not great but I presume that strong light is not advised as the fabrics are fragile and will fade. I struggled to find explanations of the exhibits and some of the things that I was interested in had no information at all. What was even more frustrating was that when I asked a member of staff about it they just said that they didn't know and left it at that.....not very good.

Having said all that I found the pieces on show visially stimulating and interesting and I am sure that I will return to this museum again as they had a very good library concentrating on textiles which was very useful to know.

The three exhibits that I chose to look at in detail where Beadwork in World of Textiles, Claire Hey Collage embroidery and Embroidered Robe from India in the Costumes and Textiles from Around the World.

bEaDwOrK - wOrLd of tExTiLeS

The exhibit was a boy's hat with a pointed crown that was machined and stiffened with cane. From India and made in the 20th century. The information was very limited about this piece unfortunately so I dont know who made it and couldn't really tell what it was made of. It was aproximately a foot long and 5" wide. It appeared to be made from cotton and was decorated with embroidery, buttons and beads. It is decorative and functional and is obviously from another culture.

Embroidery is the art of stitching and design on cloth using needle and coloured thread. The use of colours, materials and stiching varies between countries.