Silk

The Haus der Seidenkultur (HdS) is a museum about Krefeld’s silk industry, located in a former silk factory that specialised in producing liturgical vestments. The museum has a rich archive and collection of objects related to silk and jacquard weaving, some of its looms are still in operation thanks to a group of volunteers, who had careers in the city’s silk weaving industry. HdS provides the case of a craft at risk of becoming extinct. During this pilot, partners will explore the challenges and requirements related to an industrialised craft that takes place in a (small) factory setting. Some of the expected points of attention will be the challenge of dealing with a wide variety of information, from written archival sources to fragile textiles and large looms; the use of machinery; capturing the locality of a craft strongly associated with Krefeld, yet also practiced elsewhere in slightly different ways; recording the activity and noise associated with the craft; the role of gender in silk weaving.