Past Exhibitions
Browse the museum's past exhibitions, including those held at The Textile Museum's original location in Washington, D.C.'s Kalorama neighborhood. Designed to present textiles as art and place them in their cultural context, Textile Museum exhibitions have primarily showcased the collection, but also featured artworks drawn from many institutions and private holdings.
Past Exhibitions at The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
August 17-December 21, 2024
February 24-December 21, 2024
January 13-July 20, 2024
January 13-July 20, 2024
September 16-December 22, 2023
February 4-December 22, 2023
May 6-November 18, 2023
May 6-November 18, 2023
July 8-November 5, 2023
February 18-July 1, 2023
October 1, 2022-March 25, 2023
October 1, 2022-March 25, 2023
August 20-December 22, 2022
March 12-August 27, 2022
March 12-August 27, 2022
February 2-June 4, 2022
August 11, 2021-October 22, 2022
August 11, 2021-May 7, 2022
August 11, 2021-February 4, 2022
August 11, 2021-February 4, 2022
February 22, 2020-November 19, 2021
February 8-March 13, 2020
August 31, 2019-January 5, 2020
Download the Woven Interiors catalog (PDF)
August 8-December 15, 2019
June 14-December 22, 2019
June 14-December 22, 2019
June 8-July 15, 2019
February 13-April 29, 2019
October 17-December 23, 2018
October 6-December 23, 2018
September 1-December 23, 2018
Download the Nomad's Art catalog (PDF) or contact the Artisans Gallery to order a print copy
March 31-September 9, 2018
March 31-September 9, 2018
March 10-July 9, 2018
February 24-July 9, 2018
November 9, 2017-March 4, 2018
September 30, 2017-January 29, 2018
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
September 2, 2017-January 7, 2018
March 18-July 24, 2017
November 5, 2016-January 30, 2017
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
August 27, 2016-April 6, 2017
April 16-September 4, 2016
Read the Stories of Migration catalog
November 21, 2015-July 3, 2016
October 10, 2015-May 29, 2016
September 19, 2015-February 14, 2016
March 21-October 18, 2015
March 21-October 18, 2015
March 21-August 9, 2015
Download the Unraveling Identity catalog (PDF)
Past Exhibitions at The Textile Museum
Out of Southeast Asia: Art That Sustains
April 12-October 13, 2013
Read the gallery guide
The Sultan's Garden: The Blossoming of Ottoman Art
September 21, 2012-March 10, 2013
Read the gallery guide
Download the Sultan's Garden catalog (PDF) or contact the Artisans Gallery to order a print copy
Sourcing the Museum
March 23-August 19, 2012
Read the gallery guide
Woven Treasures of Japan's Tawaraya Workshop
March 23-August 12, 2012
Read the gallery guide
Dragons, Nagas, and Creatures of the Deep
February 3, 2012-January 6, 2013
Weaving Abstraction: Kuba Textiles and the Woven Art of Central Africa
October 15, 2011-February 12, 2012
Green: the Color and the Cause
April 16, 2011-September 11, 2011
Second Lives: The Age-Old Art of Recycling Textiles
February 4, 2011-January 8, 2012
Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats
October 16, 2010-March 13, 2011
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain
May 15-September 12, 2010
The Art of Living: Textile Furnishings from the Permanent Collection
February 12, 2010-January 9, 2011
Contemporary Japanese Fashion: The Mary Baskett Collection
October 17, 2009-April 11, 2010
Fabrics of Feathers and Steel: The Innovation of Nuno
October 17, 2009-April 11, 2010
A Lady Found a Culture in Its Cloth: Barack Obama's Mother and Indonesian Batiks
August 9-August 23, 2009
Constructed Color: Amish Quilts
April 4-September 6, 2009
Recent Acquisitions
March 6, 2009-January 3, 2010
Timbuktu to Tibet: Rugs and Textiles of the Hajji Babas
October 18, 2008-March 8, 2009
BLUE
April 4-September 18, 2008
The Finishing Touch: Accessories from the Bolivian Highlands
February 15, 2008-February 1, 2009
Private Pleasures: Collecting Contemporary Textile Art
September 28, 2007-February 17, 2008
Textiles of Klimt's Vienna
August 3, 2007-January 6, 2008
Architectural Textiles: Tent Bands of Central Asia
March 30-August 19, 2007
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
RED
February 2-July 8, 2007
Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Mandalay to Chittagong
October 13, 2006-February 25, 2007
Harpies, Mermaids and Tulips: Embroidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Region
March 17-September 3, 2006
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
Seldom Seen: Director's Choice from the Museum's Collections
February 10-July 30, 2006
Rozome Masters of Japan
October 14, 2005-February 12, 2006
Silk & Leather: Splendid Attire of 19th-century Central Asia
September 2, 2005-February 26, 2006
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
Gods and Empire: Huari Ceremonial Textiles
July 1, 2005-January 15, 2006
Textiles for This World and Beyond: Treasures from Insular Southeast Asia
April 1, 2005–September 18, 2005
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
Beyond the Bag: Textiles as Containers
January 28-June 5, 2005
A Garden of Shawls: The Buta and Its Seeds
October 4, 2004-March 6, 2005
Floral Perspectives in Carpet Design
August 27, 2004-February 6, 2005
Over One, Under One, and Much More...
July 2, 2004-January 2, 2005
Timeless Connections: Exploring Tapestry Weave
April 16-August 1, 2004
Draped, Wrapped and Folded: Untailored Clothing
January 30-June 6, 2004
Navajo Blankets of the 19th Century: Selections from The Textile Museum Collections
September 5, 2003-March 14, 2004
The Art of Resist Dyeing
July 5, 2003-January 3, 2004
Mamluk Rugs from Egypt: Jewels of The Textile Museum's Collection
January 31-June 8, 2003
Hold It: Textiles as Containers
January 31-June 8, 2003
The Classical Tradition in Anatolian Carpets
September 13, 2002-February 16, 2003
Secrets of Silk
June 28, 2002-January 5, 2003
Hidden Threads of Peru: Q'ero Textiles
March 22-August 18, 2002
Technology as Catalyst: Textile Artists on the Cutting Edge
February 15-July 28, 2002
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog
From the Amu Darya to the Potomac: Central Asian Bags from Area Collections
September 7, 2001-February 24, 2002
Flowers of Silk and Gold: Four Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery
February 18-July 30, 2000
Contact the Artisans Gallery to order the catalog