New felt friends at the Silk Museum

Silk Museum welcomes some new felt friends as it launches summer exhibition programme inspired by textiles.

Macclesfield’s Silk Museum has opened its doors to a host of new felt creatures as it launches its latest exhibition programme.

Archipelagogo is an exhibition of 3D soft sculptures inspired by the life work and creativity of Tove Jansson created by the artist Felt Mistress (Louise Evans) and Jonathan Edwards.  

Rather than take inspiration purely from Jansson’s most famous creations, The Moomins, the exhibition is instead inspired by the things that inspired Jansson herself – art, love, family, travel, and the geography of her native Finland.  

Director of Silk Museum, Emma Anderson, says: “We’re so lucky to host these incredible sculptures at the Silk Museum. Her work has been used in fashion shoots, ad campaigns, music videos and films. Felt Mistress has been exhibited all over the world including shows in Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angeles, Mexico, Paris, Berlin, London and now Macclesfield.

“Come and see these beautifully created characters in amongst our collections. The work will be on display to coincide with Macc Pow!  Macclesfield’s Comic Art Festival, which takes place from 20th -23rd June.”

The sculptures are on display around the galleries in and amongst the museum’s unique collections. There will also be a worksheet trail for children to discover them – each colourful character is individual and skillfully created with its own identity. Come and meet the artists, the kite flyer, and the harbour master.

The Silk Museum is also proud to present, a new exhibition in the upstairs gallery featuring work by arts collective Textile 21. Odyssey is an exhibition by these outstanding textile artists who have produced thought-provoking pieces, which feature recycled plastics, embroidery and stitch presented in diverse ways.

Come and meet the Textile 21 Artists and learn more about their work, as they are delivering a series of workshops at the Museum. On Sunday May 26th there is a drop-in session plus a session for children with artist Susan Syddall, to stitch animals with laces. No booking is needed, just come along from 11am.

And that’s not all, three Macclesfield-based artists will be exhibiting their latest project WOVEN at the Museum this May. WOVEN is a 1:12 scale exhibition in a dolls house. It features 3D artwork by Lorna Ellen, Marianda T and Tyra Till, who explore woven techniques in different materials including clay, found objects, histories, words, and using the ancient technique of tablet weaving. The incredibly intricate work is a delight to behold.

The Silk Museum will be developing and expanding its resources for creative engagement over the coming months, thanks to a generous award of £165k from the Arts Council England’s Capital Investment programme. The Museum will be able to transform the building’s accessibility, increase sustainability and lessen its overall environmental impact. A Jacquard Studio will be created, improving storage facilities, and creating better access to the remarkable collection of Pattern Books.

It will increase creative opportunities for artists by supporting co-curated displays inspired by the museum’s collections. And it will allow more work with community groups with special needs, visual impairment, and low cultural engagement.

All the exhibitions are open now.

Archipelagogo by Felt Mistress and Jonathan Edwards is open from May 15 until June 30

The exhibition was originally commissioned by Lakes International Comics Art Festival and The Finnish Institute in London with the blessing of the Jansson family.  

Odyssey by Textile 21 is open from May 15 until August 10

Woven an exhibition by The Doll’s House Gallery featuring work by Lorna Ellen, Marianda T and Tyra Till is open until June 22.

For details of Silk Museum’s What’s on programme visit https://www.thesilkmuseum.co.uk/whats-on

All images by Daniel Hearn