Exhibitions

2022: magnificent Design

An exhibition of historic and contemporary carpets in celebration of the Museum’s 10th birthday.

  • A look back at the magnificent designs of the past from the Museum collection.
  • Partnerships with today’s carpet companies showcased carpets that harness today’s technology.
  • Nurtured future design talent by exhibiting work by graduates from BCU.

2022 Jubilee Display

This Jubilee display was created to celebrate the Queen’s 2022 Platinum Jubilee and her 70 years of service. A fascinating collection of commemorative picture rugs, photographs and other memorabilia.

2021 Generation: The People and Production of Kidderminster

Stunning windows into the past were discovered at our 2021 Summer Exhibition, which has now closed.

Our exhibition, Generation, was curated to tell the story of a Kidderminster industry and community with photographs and objects from the Museum of Carpet archive. It explored connections and shared experiences between generations in Kidderminster who worked in the same carpet factories and lived in the town. It inspired intergenerational conversation and a sense of community and confidence in a time of seismic change.

Our photographs were displayed alongside photos from the public. The images which were submitted to our Photography Open Call completed the story and continue the discussion of what Kidderminster means to us now.

2019 Jan Bowman Woven Forms: Breaking the Boundaries

Weaving artist Jan Bowman is renowned for breaking the boundaries of weaving by creating woven spatial divides, panels and sculptural pieces that challenge the conventional limits of the discipline by transforming traditional woven forms into contemporary installations. This woven installation was brought out of London to the West Midlands, offering a new audience exposure to something that had only previously been on display in the south.

‘We work from deep levels of intuition and feeling; deeply embedded in our collective consciousness is the intuitive awareness of our relationship to nature and the environment’.

The exhibition showcased a four-part sculptural installation and woven panels by weaving artist Jan Bowman that were inspired by starling murmurations and the natural world.

The Sacramento Carpet

Alongside the Jan Bowman exhibition, the Museum of Carpet presented a carpet woven for Sacramento Airport by artist Seyed Alavi in conjunction with Ullster Carpets.

2018 Journey to Japan

Journey to Japan followed the experience of Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) of Tomkinsons, who made the treacherous journey from Kidderminster to Yokohama in 1888 by land and sea.

Tomkinson fell in love with Japan and its art, collecting beautiful objects through his art dealer. He amassed a substantial and valuable collection which he housed in a Japanese museum in the grounds of his house, Franche Hall, near Kidderminster.

Journey to Japan juxtaposed dramatic Edo-period silk paintings of the natural world and landscapes with intricate nineteenth-century katagami stencils, hand-cut from mulberry paper, from the original Tomkinson collection, now housed in the Museum of Carpet.

The main exhibition was complemented by displays which explored the tangible impact of the Tomkinson collection and the wider trend of Japanese artistic influence on Kidderminster carpet design.