Museum of Science and Industry

Colour charts, trade labels and brightly-coloured fabrics produced by local companies are all part of a new exhibition at the Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), Manchester, looking at Greater Manchester’s global influence on the cotton industry. 

The exhibits are on show at the museum’s Southern Voices: Weaving Stories exhibition which examines the impact of colonialism on the Indian subcontinent, West Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the USA.

The exhibition is a collaboration between MOSI and the community organisation Southern Voices, as part of a Heritage Lottery funded project called Textiles Stories, Weaving Histories. Brightly-coloured fabrics from Paterson Zochonis of Manchester, colour charts from the city’s Calico Printers’ Association and a directory from the Manchester Royal Exchange, sit alongside models of looms, printing blocks, trade labels and ledgers.

A spokesperson for the Manchester-based Southern Voices group said: “Manchester’s strong textile heritage made it an ideal focus for exploring the impact of British colonialism.

“We also wanted to show both sides of the story as being equally valid so the exhibition features stories both from Manchester and from other parts of the world,” she concluded.

There are also recordings of people’s memories of working life in the textile industry in Manchester, with references to importing cloth and yarns from countries such as Egypt, India and Pakistan. Others refer to the city’s ‘Big Five’ companies which were leading the West African textile export market until the late 1960s.

Adam Daber, Industry Curator at MOSI, said: “Visitors will have the chance to learn more about Manchester’s influence on and connection with other parts of the world through its textile industry.

“Manchester companies, including Paterson Zochonis, made cotton specifically for the African market, using designs and symbols relating to geographic areas and tribal cultures. We have fabrics on display, patterned with snail shells, umbrellas, palm oil trees and flowers, each telling a particular story. For example the cowrie shell was a symbol of currency and wealth while the umbrella, often used by tribal chiefs, denoted status,” he added.

ENDS

(Photo caption: Ehinomen Oboh of Southern Voices putting the finishing touches to one of the exhibits)

Southern Voices: Weaving Stories is open daily until September 13 2009 from 10am – 5pm (Monday – Sunday) in the Community Exhibition Gallery at MOSI. Admission is free.

For more information please call Diane Inglis on 0161 606 0173 or Sarah Roe on 0161 606 0176.

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