Past Exhibitions
Browse the museum's past exhibitions, inlcuding those held at The Textile Museum's original location in Washington, D.C.'s Kalorama neighborhood. Designed to both present textiles as art, and to place them in their cultural context, Textile Museum exhibitions have primarily showcased its permanent collections, but also featured works from other textile arts drawn from a variety of public and private holdings.
Architectural Textiles: Tent Bands of Central Asia
This exhibition highlighted elaborately decorated tent bands made by different Central Asian ethnic groups, including Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Kazakh.
RED
RED explored the complex uses and meanings of red in textiles across time and place through twenty-one varied textiles from the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Mantles of Merit: Chin Textiles from Mandalay to Chittagong
Mantles of Merit was the first major exhibition devoted to the sophisticated textiles from the Chin peoples, an ethnic minority group in western Myanmar, northeastern India, and eastern Bangladesh.
Harpies, Mermaids, and Tulips: Embroidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Region
This exhibition included approximately seventy embroidered textiles created between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries for bridal trousseaux and domestic life.
Seldom Seen: Director's Choice from the Museum's Collections
Seldom Seen: Director's Choice from the Museum's Collections presented Director Daniel Walker's selection of twenty-eight textiles from The Textile Museum's permanent holdings.
Rozome Masters of Japan
This exhibition featured the work of fifteen contemporary Japanese artists and included folding screens, scrolls, panels, and kimono all created using rozome, a wax-resist dyeing technique unique to Japan.
Silk & Leather: Splendid Attire of 19th-Century Central Asia
This exhibition featured different types of garments and accessories worn by the ruling class and urban and nomadic elites of the region which today encompasses Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and part of Kazakhstan.
Gods and Empire: Huari Ceremonial Textiles
This exhibition explored what textile iconography tells us about Huari religious and ceremonial practices and the development of the empire over time.
Textiles for This World and Beyond: Treasures from Insular Southeast Asia
This exhibition explored the role that textiles in Indonesia and Malaysia play in daily society, and how textiles are used in ceremonies to maintain harmonious relationships with the deceased or the gods.
Beyond the Bag: Textiles as Containers
This exhibition celebrated the use of textiles as utilitarian containers and gave visitors an opportunity to investigate the many ways various cultures have exploited the unique properties of textile containers to suit their needs.
A Garden of Shawls: The Buta and Its Seeds
The natural grace of the gardens of Mughal India was reflected in the patterns of trees, vines, and flowers that decorated textiles of the period.
Floral Perspectives in Carpet Design
This exhibition examined floral motifs from three perspectives—spiritual, cultural, and artistic—as rendered in the designs of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century Indian, Chinese, Central Asian, Persian, and Turkish carpets.
Over One, Under One, and Much More...
This exhibition explored the diversity of patterning achieved in plain-woven textiles from Asia to the Americas.
Timeless Connections: Exploring Tapestry Weave
With objects drawn from the museum's collections, this exhibition provided a broad historical and cultural context for the concept of tapestry weave.
Draped, Wrapped, and Folded: Untailored Clothing
This exhibition highlighted a unique blend of complexity and simplicity in a showcase of nineteen untailored garments from Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
On View
Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse
"Scraps" presents the work of three designers who have pioneered creative approaches to recycling textiles: Luisa Cevese in Milan; Christina Kim in Los Angeles; and Reiko Sudo in Tokyo. Opens September 2.
Selections from The Textile Museum Collections
You can always find a rotating selection of objects from The Textile Museum collections on view in the museum's lower-level galleries, including many objects that have rarely or never before been displayed.
Foundations for a Nation: Architectural Images from the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection
Historical images reveal how public competitions, presidential preferences, and unanticipated historical events shaped the U.S. Capitol and White House.
A Collector’s Vision: Selections from the Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection
A new selection of maps, letters, prints, and artifacts on display from the museum’s Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection includes recent acquisitions and rare treasures.
Expansive Visions: GW Collection Past, Present, Future
Organized by GW's Luther Brady Art Gallery and presented in the museum's lower-level galleries, this exhibition traces GW's history and evolution as a presenter of contemporary art through highlights from the university collection.
The George Washington University Museum
The Textile Museum
701 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052
Phone: 202-994-5200
museuminfo@gwu.edu
