You may not have paid close attention to the clothes you threw on your body before running out the door this morning, but that shirt on your back -- and the pants on your backside -- say a lot about who you are as a person. A new exhibit at a new D.C. museum examines how textiles shape your identity.
Curator Lee Talbot leads a small tour through the exhibit “Unraveling Identity: Our Textiles, Our Stories” at The Textile Museum. Talbot explains how everything from uniforms, to rugs, costumes and wedding dresses demonstrate power, status and personal identity.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The George Washington Museum and The Textile Museum will open its doors to visitors on Saturday, March 21.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The new Textile Museum, located on George Washington University’s Foggy Bottom campus, includes 46,000 square feet of new museum space, which is connected to the 7,000-square-foot historic Woodhull House. The museum cost $33 million to build.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
Lee Talbot, curator of the Eastern Hemisphere collection at The Textile Museum, leads a small group through the museum’s biggest exhibit, “Unraveling Identity: Our Textiles, Our Stories.”
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The exhibit examines how everything from uniforms, to rugs, costumes and wedding dresses demonstrate power, status and personal identity.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The new location of The Textile Museum, which previously resided on S Street NW from 1925 to 2012, also comes with a new partnership: The George Washington University.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The two institutions announced their collaboration in 2011; the university constructed the museum’s new building on its campus, as well as a 20,000 square-foot storage and conservation space in Loudoun County.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The Textile Museum has more than 19,000 art works in its collection.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The 46,000 square-foot newly constructed building connects with the 7,000 square-foot historic Woodhull House.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
Museum curator Lee Talbot shows visitors an interactive photo feature in the exhibit “Unraveling Identity: Our Textiles, Our Stories.” The new museum will have several interactive stations, including screens at many of the items on display.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The 46,000 square-foot newly constructed building connects with the 7,000 square-foot historic Woodhull House.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
“Unraveling Identity” is just one of three exhibits the museum will showcase in its new 53,000 square-foot complex, which opens to the public on Saturday, March 21. The other exhibits feature historical maps and designs that helped shape the nation’s capital city and maps and prints that tell the story of the Civil War.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The museum includes a 20,000-volume library, dedicated to the study of the textile arts.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The museum’s library also houses a collection of old maps, in addition to rare books.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
“All of us communicate through our textiles, whether we’re aware of it or not,” says curator Lee Talbot. “Textiles give very specific information about who we are.”
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
“All of us communicate through our textiles, whether we’re aware of it or not,” says curator Lee Talbot. “Textiles give very specific information about who we are.”
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The gift shop at the new Textile Museum sells jewelry, home decor, books and gifts.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
On opening day, Saturday, March 21, the new Textile Museum will host a variety of family-friendly activities, in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival. There will be kimono and Victorian-era dress-up stations, art demonstrations, dance and musical performances, cherry blossom necklace-making stations and more.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WTOP/Rachel Nania
The Textile Museum is located at 701 21st Street NW, on George Washington University’s Foggy Bottom campus. Admission to the museum is free for museum members, children and GWU students; there is a suggested donation of $8 for other visitors.
(WTOP/Rachel Nania)
WASHINGTON — You may not have paid close attention to the clothes you threw on your body before running out the door this morning, but that shirt on your back — and the pants on your backside — say a lot about who you are as a person.
The thickness of your socks might allude to where you live, the fabric on your shirt could be an indicator of your economic status and the pattern covering your shoes may offer a glimpse into your ethnic background.
“All of us communicate through our textiles, whether we’re aware of it or not,” says Lee Talbot. “Textiles give very specific information about who we are.”
Talbot is the curator of the Eastern Hemisphere collection at The Textile Museum, which, after three years of being closed, is getting ready to open its doors at its new Foggy Bottom location.
Leading a small tour through the exhibit “Unraveling Identity: Our Textiles, Our Stories,” Talbot explains how everything from uniforms, to rugs, costumes and wedding dresses demonstrate power, status and personal identity.
“Textiles can also express, more generally, our culture,” he says. “In today’s world, it’s the graphic T-shirt that everyone identifies with.”
“Unraveling Identity” is just one of three exhibits the museum will showcase in its new 53,000 square-foot complex, which opens to the public on Saturday, March 21. The other exhibits feature historical maps and designs that helped shape the nation’s capital city and maps and prints that tell the story of the Civil War.
The new location of the museum, which previously resided on S Street NW from 1925 to 2012, also comes with a new partnership: The George Washington University.
The two institutions announced their collaboration in 2011; the university constructed the museum’s new building on its campus, as well as a 20,000 square-foot storage and conservation space in Loudoun County.
And while the museum, which has more than 19,000 art works, will no doubt be a destination for area residents and tourists, it will also be a resource for students and faculty at the university.
“Our students are going to benefit in countless ways because so many of the intellectual disciplines at the university have something to do with what goes on in this museum, whether it’s anthropology, Middle Eastern studies, Africana studies, American studies … I just think the possibilities for our students and scholars are endless,” says Steve Knapp, president of The George Washington University.
Bruce Baganz, president of the Board of Trustees of The Textile Museum and co-chairman of the Board of Trustees at The George Washington University Museum, says the partnership was a natural fit.
“This was an opportunity for The Textile Museum to get to the next level up and better address its worldwide audience,” he says.
Opening weekend for the museum coincides with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and the museum has plenty of activities planned to celebrate the annual event, including cultural dance and musical performances, craft stations and dress-up stations.
Admission to the museum is free for museum members, children and current GWU students; there is a suggested donation of $8 for all other visitors.
