 On A Grand Scale the next exciting Embroiderers’ Guild exhibition will open on Saturday 1 February 2025.
Embroiderers’ Guild have been, behind the scenes, digitising their collection of almost 8,500 textile treasures. This project has meant that people from across the globe can now explore their unique pieces through the Art UK website, alongside other museums collections.
Going through the collection, box by box to photograph each item has meant the discovery of pieces we did not realise we had. The idea for this exhibition came from discovering a large, embroidered hanging of a church and village, which inspired us to showcase some of the bigger pieces in the collection and the inspiration behind the title ‘On a Grand Scale’.
We have curated here a varied selection of pieces which, we hope, emphasises both the physical scale of the works and the broader themes of creativity, skill, and the impact of textiles as powerful visual statements.
Whether you’re a seasoned stitcher or a newcomer to the world of textiles, we are sure you will find these larger-than-life pieces will spark your imagination.
Previous exhibitions
Blooming Threads 2024
400 years of embroidered flowers from around the world
Flowers are one of the most popular images depicted in embroidery. Beyond their obvious visual appeal, flowers offer countless creative and symbolic possibilities in the use of colour, shape and pattern.
This new exhibition delves deep into the Embroiderers’ Guild Collection to reveal fascinating and inspiring examples of stitched flowers – both modern and historical – from around the world. Some are exquisite floral forms produced in professional workshops, others are bold, contemporary artworks created by individual designer/makers. You’ll see a wide variety of embroidery styles and techniques on display, including the use of more unexpected materials such as fish scales, animal hair and fruit and vegetable plastic net bags!
Previous exhibitions
Sew New!
During the pandemic (2020 – 2022) the Embroiderers’ Guild was very fortunate to receive a series of important gifts and bequests, all of which have enriched its collection historically and visually. This exhibition, Sew New!, showcased some of these acquisitions, with a particular focus on the work of named embroiderers who have contributed to the development of embroidery in their lifetime, in terms of their own work, their teaching and their authorship. Featured artists included Jan Beaney, Joy Clucas and Richard Box, together with Eirian Short, Eugenie Alexander and Sian Martin, to name a few.
Watch
Will Phillips, Discover Bucks Keeper of Social History, discusses his top 5 exhibits from the collection in the film below.
Previous exhibitions
Embroidered Birds
A previous exhibition was based on amazing examples of Embroidered Birds from the thousands of pieces in the collections. Inspiration for this display came from one of the Guild members publications and the local Guild volunteers provided invaluable support in choosing and helping to display the lovely pieces on show.
Watch Curator Will Phillips talk through the wonderful Embroidered Birds exhibition
