+44 (0)20 7942 2000

Thursday 18 April 2024 – Thursday 4 July 2024
10.30 – 16.30
Online
Course price £395.00
Call +44 (0)20 7942 2000 to book
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Join us on this textile history course to explore a period of opposites: new technologies, mass-production and an insatiable demand for inventive designs on the one hand and flourishing domestic needlework and increasingly valued hand-woven textiles on the other.

You can learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with more than 40 hours of study over 12 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for up to 12 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.

Year Course Director
Jennifer Wearden

In the 28 years Jennifer worked with the Museum’s Textile Collection she curated a V&A exhibition called The European Art of Textiles which toured Japan in 1995 and authored/co-authored several V&A publications including Samplers, Ottoman Embroidery, Oriental Carpets and Iranian Textiles.

Fascinating and insightful content, so much more than can be read in a book! Previous V&A Academy Online Course Attendee

This textile art course begins in the period when technological developments were resulting in the mass-production of textiles and then it considers how several influential designers reacted against this industrialisation, leading to the Arts and Crafts Movement. A constant supply of new textile designs was required to meet the expectations of a growing consumer society and designs were increasingly influenced by movements in the field of painting, reflecting on fabric what artists were creating on canvas. Twentieth century manufacturing processes have favoured printing and machine-knitting, but hand-woven and embroidered textiles and supremely skilled craftspeople have ensured that some textiles remain true works of art.

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V&A Academy Online. A learning environment you can trust.

V&A Academy Online courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live, or catch up later on demand. Download handouts and presentations. Join the discussion in a secure, closed class environment, wherever you are.