The Textile Museum

Open: Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm;

Sunday, lpm-5pm.

Closed: Legal Holidays.

Facilities: Architecture (Myers family residence, 1912 design by John Russell Pope; gallery building, 1908 design by Waddy B. Wood); Exhibition Area: Library (16,000 volumes); Shop (blogs, jewelry, handmade scarves, ethnographic textiles).

Activities: Classes and Workshops; Films; Gallery Talks; Guided Tours (Sept-May, Wed/Sat/Sun, 2pm);

Lectures; Temporary Exhibitions; Traveling Exhibitions.

Publications: “Bulletin” (quarterly); blogs on collection; exhibition catalogues; journal (annual).

The Textile Museum is devoted exclusively to the handmade textile arts, presenting several exhibitions each year, which range from Oriental carpets to contemporary fibre art. The Textile Learning Center at The Textile Museum provides an opportunity for visitors to learn about how textiles are made and their cultural and artistic significance. Two galleries comprise the Center: the Activity Gallery and the Collections Gallery In the Activity Gallery, visitors can look, touch, and try a variety of hands-on activities including learning where natural dyes come from or how to spin wool. Visitors can also explore textiles and their relationship to tradition, economy, environment, and lifestyle. In the Collections Gallery, visitors can see the wealth and diversity of The

Textile Museums collections of non-Western historic and ethnographic rugs and textiles. The Museums collection of Oriental carpets is particularly extensive with strengths in Turkish, Caucasian, Chinese, Egyptian (Mamluk), Spanish, and Persian carpets. Its collections of Coptic, Islamic, and pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles are also among the finest in the world. Additionally, the Museum has significant holding of the textiles of India. Indonesia, China, and Africa, as well as 20th-century ethnographic textiles from the Americas.

Exterior view of The Textile Museum. Photograph by Charles Rumph, copyright The Textile Museum, Washington, District of Columbia.