The fabrics produced at Kreenholm are often remembered as an enormous amount of floral textiles. We have the wish and possibility to show that there is so much more.

Fabrics produced by Kreenholm have been a natural part of Estonian life for decades and have influenced the everyday life of many generations. The development of the factory, which was founded in 1857, has been addressed from an economic and industrial, as well as architectural point of view, but little is known about the textile designers, who worked there and who, in keeping with the times, were largely anonymous, yet who strongly influenced the appearance of local daily life. Most Estonians have had contact with Kreenholm fabrics through clothing, bed linen, towels and tablecloths. But who were the designers at Kreenholm in the 1960s, who had an impact on the everyday environment with their printed, towelling and jacquard fabrics and what exactly did Kreenholm produce? This exhibition aims to introduce audiences to the textile products, the conditions, opportunities, processes and the designers who shaped all of this.

The first cohort of designers started work at Kreenholm in 1963, with the opening of the Georg factory, which focused on jacquard fabrics and laid a solid foundation for the production of furnishing fabrics. The finishing factory, opened in 1967, began producing printed fabrics and the number of professional designers increased. Even though the Estonian State Art Institute (ERKI) was the main school for training artists in the ESSR, the majority of designers working at Kreenholm had trained in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ivanovo and elsewhere. Consequently, Kreenholm fabrics were an amalgam of both technical opportunities available and the characteristics derived from the many various cultural and aesthetic preferences and traditions.

The exhibition presents visitors with a uniquely broad spectrum of fabric designs produced by Kreenholm and introduces the role of industrial designers, as well as designers from the early 1960s, like Irina Ševtšuk, Šamil Alijev, Koidu Sirp, Maasike Maasik, Boriss Uvarov, Nadežda Hlestkova, Tamara Barbarina, Natalja Kapajeva, Jelena Jupatova and many others.

The various aspects of Kreenholm, its one-time monopoly and inevitable decline, has influenced and become an important foundation for many contemporary artists. This exhibition includes examples of contemporary art – Eleonore de Montesquiou’s video Factory (Vabrik, 2009), based on archival material from the Kreenholm factory, and Marge Monko’s video Nora’s sisters (Nora õed, 2009) and Maria Kapajeva’s The Bright Way (2017) as well as the work of Andres Tolts and Signe Kivi.

The exhibition was first produced for the Narva Museum in the middle of last year and has been modified and augmented for the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (ETDM). Thanks to the discovery of new material it has been possible to identify most of the designers of the fabrics.

There is an abundance of fabric samples on display; however, this is still a small sample of the entire Kreenholm production over the years. Visitors are encouraged to contribute to the exhibition and museum collection but bringing or sending photographs of Kreenholm fabric being used. Since only small fabric samples from the earlier years exist then actual fabrics from the 1960s and 1970s are especially welcome.

The exhibition is the result of collaborative efforts by the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design and Narva Museum and is based mainly on the collection of the Narva Museum.

Curators: Helen Adamson and Kai Lobjakas
Exhibition design: Kristi Paap
Graphic design: Sandra Sirp
Supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment

Publications

Leaflet “Patterns: Kreenholm textile design 1963–2005” (PDF)

Gallery