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THE TEXTILE MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR EXPANSION

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Textile Museum unveiled plans of a major initiative to open a second site, dedicated to exhibitions and educational activities, close to the National Mall. The facility, situated in the vibrant Penn Quarter neighborhood at 421 7th Street, NW, is a 23,400-square-foot space scheduled to open in early 2008.

This new venue — which almost doubles the museum’s space overall and dramatically increases its exhibition space — will enable the museum’s growth through the presentation of larger and more varied temporary exhibitions as well as installations, public programs, enhanced visitor services and an expanded museum shop. The Textile Museum will serve audience in two locations, providing a richer visitor experience and better fulfilling the key component of its mission: to further understanding and appreciation of mankind’s creative achievements in the textile arts.

“A highly visible presence in downtown Washington will allow The Textile Museum to engage a broader audience in its public programs, education and expanded exhibitions. This focus is crucial in addressing the key challenge of cultivating successive generations of people who appreciate textiles as arts,” said Bruce P. Baganz, president of the museum’s board of trustees.

Museum director Daniel Walker says, “A diverse slate of exhibitions and public programs is currently being developed for 2008 and beyond. The museum is hard at work preparing an exciting roster of activities to tantalize both our existing visitors and supporters, and others who don’t yet know about us.”

McInturff Architects, based in Bethesda, has been chosen to design the new 7th Street facility. One of McInturff’s most recent arts projects was the Woolly Mammoth Theatre, also located in Penn Quarter. McInturff Architects have received more than 200 design awards, including a 2003 AIA Honor Award for Interior Architecture.

The 421 7th Street, NW building — of which the museum will occupy three floors: the lower, street and second levels was constructed in 1917. As The Textile Museum’s new site opens, the museum’s current location at 2320 S Street, NW, will remain open to the public. Plans call for the exhibition space at S Street to feature rotations from the museum’s permanent collections as well as study collections available for viewing by the visitor.

Founded in 1925 by collector George Hewitt Myers, The Textile Museum is an international center for the exhibition, study, collection and preservation of the textile arts. The museum presents rotating exhibitions that are designed to present textiles as art and to place them in a cultural context by exploring religious, social, artistic, economic and ecological aspects of the cultures in which they were created. The museum also stages exhibitions of historical and contemporary quilts and of fiber art. A wide range of educational programming accompanies the exhibitions. With a collection of more than 18,000 textiles and rugs and an unparalleled library, the museum is a major resource.

Myers opened the museum with a collection of 275 rugs and 60 related textiles, which he began collecting in the 1890s. Myers collected actively for the museum until his death in 1957, at which time the holdings had grown to encompass the textiles arts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Myers’ time, the museum, open by appointment only, received several hundred visitors annually. Today, it is one of the world’s foremost specialized art museums, with members from all 50 states and 53 countries, and receives 25,000 to 35,000 visitors each year from around the world.

Admission to the museum is free with a suggested donation of $5 for nonmembers. For information, 202-667-0441 or www.textilemuseum.org.