Keywords

Heritage, Collaboration, Textile Design Pedagogy, Response, Local, Material Culture, Interpretation, Worktown, Object Centred Learning. 

• Originals Project - Supported by a University Jenkinson Award - a two year funded project, undertaken by second year BA(Hons)Textiles and Surface Design degree students, examining the history of textiles in Bolton through identification of key items within the collection from the 18th - 20th centuries.  Exhibited initially at Smithills Hall, Bolton. 
  
• Making Textiles : History > Identity > Innovation - a staff and student collaborative exhibition developing the Originals project outcomes. This was curated as a visual timeline of key collection items alongside student and staff creative responses. 
  
• Making Textiles : Designers for Industry - Reimagining the post-war design collection of Joseph Johnson Ltd.- work produced in conjunction with the Wonder Women Community Group, presented as part of the Worktown Festival. 

The Originals project focused on the visual interpretation and critical analysis of archival materials and objects relating to textile production, held within Bolton Museum, and its relationship with the University and the town. Bolton has been acknowledged as the birthplace of textiles, with Flemish Weavers settling in Bolton in the 14th Century, introducing the manufacture of woollen cloth.

The research concentrates on two key areas, the first being the broader collection of artefacts, objects and machinery as rich narrative of the town and workers in the textile industry, culminating in a staff/student collaborative exhibition; and the second formed part of the PhD by Practice (prospective) responding to the significant body of post-war commercial textile designs for woven furnishings from the Joseph Johnson collection held within the museum archive. 

Students have developed artworks responding to the broader history of textiles during the 18th / 19th Centuries within Bolton and surrounding areas, including textile machinery, manufacturers, mills, pattern books, textile quilts and bolt stamps relating to global trade, with a specific focus on textile history, place and material culture. Student design-led outcomes have recently been exhibited at Smithills Hall, Bolton, home of the Ainsworth Family of Bleachers in July 2017.

A major exhibition 'Making Textiles : History>Identity>Innovation' which  included responses by staff and students in collaboration with the Museum, took place at the newly opened Temporary Gallery at Bolton Museum and Art Gallery in January 2019. 

' Greater Manchester’s rich history and culture have developed Greater Manchester into a global brand that speaks of innovation, creativity and social progress. Our international reputation was, and is, built on the creativity of our people, and we must invest in creating the conditions for that creativity to flourish in the future.'

Greater Manchester's Strategy for Culture and Creativity