Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, CMWŁ (until 1975 Museum of the
History of Textiles) - a textile museum located in Geyer's White Factory
in Łódź at ul. Piotrkowska 282, entered into the National Register of
Museums under number 116/134.
It is Europe's largest museum
dedicated to textiles and the history of weaving. At the time of its
creation, it was the first such facility in the world. The seat of the
museum is one of the first adaptations of post-industrial architecture
for museum purposes in the world.
The first organizational attempts date back to 1952, when Krystyna
Kondratiuk led to the creation of the Weaving Department at the Museum
of Art in Łódź. Due to the success of the project, the department was
transformed into the Branch of the Museum of Art.
In 1959, the
weaving mill building was taken over by the Museum of the History of
Textiles, which on January 1, 1960 gained the status of an independent
museum facility. In 1975, the name of the institution was changed to the
Central Museum of Textiles.
Biała Fabryka is a vast, 4-wing
complex of industrial architecture buildings. The process of renovating
and adapting the monument for museum purposes was started in 1955, when
a decision was made to designate the building as the seat of the Museum
of Textile History to be built.
Since 2009, an integral part of
the museum has been the open-air museum of Łódź Wooden Architecture, in
which there are objects typical of the buildings of Łódź and the
surrounding area from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries: a church
in Nowosolna, a summer villa in Ruda Pabianicka, the so-called "wooden
tenement house", i.e. a 1-story house from the outskirts of Łódź, a
wooden waiting room of the Łódź Narrow-Gauge Electric Commuter Railways
(suburban trams) from their Zgierz terminus at pl. J. Kilińskiego from
around 1901 and 4 wooden craft and residential houses from the Łódź
suburbs.
In 2013, the exhibition space of the museum was expanded
by the revitalized building of the "Old Boiler House", in which an
interactive museum was opened, using modern multimedia techniques.
In 2018, the modernization of the museum's seat, financed from the
funds of the Operational Program Infrastructure and Environment for the
years 2014-2020, began. It is planned to renovate the western, southern
and northern façades as well as the interiors of the oldest wing of the
historic factory - building A, as well as the renovation of the southern
façade of building C adjacent to Reymonta Park. The investment will also
include the reconstruction of rooms in the other two wings of the White
Factory, i.e. buildings B and D, as well as works in the open-air museum
of Łódź Wooden Architecture: installation of central heating, insulation
and reconstruction of historic houses, land development. The planned
date of completion of the works is the end of 2019, and in the Open Air
Museum of Łódź Wooden Architecture: spring 2020.
Krystyna Kondratiuk (1960–1976)
Adam Nahlik (1976–1981)
Norbert
Zawisza (1981–2013)
Marcin Oko (2013–2016)
Aneta Dalbiak (since
2016)
The scientific, collecting and popularizing interests of the museum
include everything that is related to the textile production process -
from the raw material, through textile techniques and technologies, to
textile products of various degrees and processing techniques. The
collections are collected, scientifically researched, preserved and made
available in various forms by the museum's specialized departments.
From 1972, the museum was a co-organizer, and from 1982 the sole
organizer of the International Triennial of Tapestry in Łódź. The Łódź
triennial is the world's oldest and largest international exhibition
promoting contemporary artistic textiles. The Central Museum of Textiles
is the sole organizer of the National Exhibition of Unique Textiles and
the National Exhibition of Miniature Textiles.
Permanent exhibitions:
Reconstruction of a weaving mill from the
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Presentation of machines in motion
Boiler room - interactive museum
Educational offer
The
Education Department of the Central Museum of Textiles organizes art
workshops, museum lessons and film screenings. The subject of the
classes is related to the profile of the museum, so it concerns history
and contemporary art, the CMWŁ collections and current exhibitions. The
aim of the workshop is to familiarize with specific textile techniques
and their practical application based on materials and tools provided by
the organizer.
Geyer's birthday - an annual event held in January, commemorating the
birthday of the founder of the White Factory - Ludwik Geyer
Geyer
Music Factory – a series of concerts taking place in the summer season
in the courtyard of the White Factory (there since 2009)
Night of
Museums - May
Awards
In October 2013, the Central Museum of
Textiles took second place in the plebiscite for "7 new wonders of
Poland", organized by the monthly National Geographic Traveler