Conferences

The Moravian Museum – Ethnographic Institute in cooperation with the Cabinet of Theoretical Studies at the Faculty of Multimedia Communications / Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín and the AMG Commission of Conservators-Restorers 

announce the 20th annual conference

Textiles in museum / Footwear and clothing accessories made of leather in the perspective of fashion history

Moravian Museum, Dietrichstein Palace, Zelný trh, Brno
Wednesday and Thursday 12 – 13 June 2024
 

Abstract of the conference

The study and interpretation of cultural heritage preserved in memory institutions can be the subject of a number of scientific fields. From the very beginning, the Textiles in Museum conference has been profiled as an interdisciplinary platform offering experts from a number of scientific fields the opportunity to jointly discuss issues related to the study of clothing culture of the Central European area. This unique concept makes it possible to establish contacts across scientific fields, where historians, ethnographers, conservators-restorers, museum staff, textile technologists, preservationists and academic workers - theorists can meet and be inspired by their questions but also by research methods or the forms of scientific output themselves. The organizers deliberately profile the individual editions in order to enable all participants to map in detail sub-segments of the vast wealth of preserved cultural heritage. The central focus of the conference is always the collection, whether in the form of museum collections or holdings managed by a heritage institute, Churches or other institutions or individuals.
 

Purpose of the conference

In 2024, the organizers decided to focus attention on footwear and leather products, which in the past represented clothing accessories or necessary functional details of clothing. Leather could be combined with other materials, which could affect not only the functionality and aesthetics of the product, but also the choice of production technology. Today, these details can be the reason for observing special requirements in terms of preventive conservation, e.g. in exhibitions or when choosing a suitable keeping in a storeroom. A variety of products could be made from leather, the knowledge of which and placing them in the context of the development of clothing culture can be beneficial both for the scientific community and indirectly through exhibitions and other projects for designers and the general public. 

Thanks to the involvement of experts from Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín, the topic will also be reflected through the lens of the university's relationship with museum collections, for example on the axis: footwear in collections as cultural heritage - technology and material - education and inspiration for contemporary production in the context of slow fashion.

The conference is also open for conservers´ reports on interventions or surveys related to the conference theme. The conference wants to be a platform for speakers who are able to focus on the issue from a historical perspective, but also with a view to the future, i.e. with a focus on the effort to preserve objects of cultural heritage for future generations. That is why the conference will also present conservation reports on interventions or surveys related to the theme of the conference. Last but not least, the organizers also expect contributions presenting exhibition activities both in galleries and in a virtual environment and modern approaches to museum education.
 

Announced thematic fields:

For the above reasons, the organizers expect contributions to the following thematic areas:

• Footwear as a non/necessary part of the wardrobe from the perspective of fashion history
• Comparison of changes in footwear production and leather processing technology 
• Focus on institutional collections
• Examples and principles of care of memory institutions for objects with a share or predominant content of leather
• New exhibition and publication initiatives
• Collections in online space

They have already announced their contributions:

• Mgr. Helena Maňasová Hradská, Ph.D., Cabinet of Theoretical Studies, Faculty of Multimedia Communications, UTB Zlín
• PhDr. Veronika Pilná, National Heritage Institute 
• Mgr. Kateřina Cichrová, National Heritage Institute
• Radek Polách, Museum of the Novojičín Region, p. o.
• Mgr. Ludmila Kotorová, Západočeské muzeum v Plzni
• MUDr. Dalibor Badal, soukromý badatel 

Instructions for speakers and authors of poster presentations

The conference is being prepared in face-to-face format. The organizers reserve the right to change the format of the conference with regard to the current hygiene rules in force in the Czech Republic at least one month before the date of the conference. 

Contributions can be presented in Czech, Slovak, Polish or English. 

Please fill in the application to participate in the conference with a contribution (maximum length 20 min.) or with a poster presentation in the online form below by May 16, 2024. You will immediately receive a confirmation of receipt of the application by e-mail. The participation in the conference can be consulted before sending the application at pmertova@mzm.cz.

Poster presentations will be located in the vestibule of the lecture hall, and authors will be provided with space to comment on the posters during breaks. Technical details for the presentation of posters will be provided to interested parties at ldufkova@mzm.cz.

Written outputs from the lectures will be accepted into the content of the peer-reviewed non-impact periodical Textiles in the Museum (evaluable output for RVVI/RIV) until May 31, 2024 at the address pmertova@mzm.cz.
 

Instructions for participants without a contribution

Please complete the applications to participate in the conference in the online form below by May 27, 2024. You will immediately receive a confirmation of receipt of the application by e-mail.

Applications to participate in the conference completed in the online form below after May 28, 2024 will be invoiced at a higher price rate. You will immediately receive a confirmation of receipt of the application by e-mail.

The definitive programme of the conference will be published on the MM website and simultaneously sent to registered participants electronically after 16 May 2024. In the event that the capacity of the lecture hall (70 people) is filled, the acceptance of applications will be stopped already before the deadline for applications.

Please note that the organizers do not provide accommodation for conference participants.

The conference fee can only be paid on the basis of an issued invoice or in cash on the spot.
 

Online form to register for the conference (the English version of the form will be added)

Conference fees

• free of charge - full-time student at a secondary school or a university (a proof of study, e.g. ISIC is required)
• 800 CZK / person - invoicing based on the sent and completed application form delivered to the organizers by 27 May 2024 / the MM will send an invoice based on the data in the application form
• 1000 CZK / person - payment on the spot or invoicing based on the sent and completed application form delivered to the organizers after 28 May 2024 / the MM will send an invoice based on the data in the application form. 

The organizer reserves the right to apply 100% cancellation fee in case of unexcused absence of registered participants. The organizer considers a written message in the organizer's e-mail correspondence at pmertova@mzm.cz as an excused absence. The message must be delivered no later than 6 p.m. on 11 June 2024 or by phone at 732 264 594.
 

Preliminary conference schedule 

First conference day, 12 June 2024

10-11 a.m. registration of participants in the vestibule  

1st block of lectures 
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Refreshment break 
12:15-13:30 p.m.

2nd block of lectures
13:30-14:45 p.m.

Refreshment break 
14:45-15:00 p.m.

3rd block of lectures
15:00-16:15 p.m.

Excursion for the conference participants: Visit to the exhibition I joined as an editor... Literature and writers at Lidové noviny Newspaper 1893-1939
 
Dietrichstein Palace, MM, Zelný trh 8, Brno
16:30-17:30 p.m.

The newspaper Lidové noviny belongs to the "family silver" of the Czech society, thanks to a well-assembled editorial team. On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the founding of the periodical, the authors of the exhibition present the editors and collaborators who belonged to the Czech literary community and thus gave to Lidové noviny an inimitable atmosphere. Authors of several generations and literary trends have collaborated with the newspaper since its inception, from the fin de siècle period to interwar surrealism. Editors - writers published their prose and poems here, but they mainly participated in ordinary editorial work: they wrote feuilletons and entrefiletes, commentaries, reviews, court-room reports and editorials - and their contribution to the level of the newspaper, whether thematic or stylistic, was thus fundamental. Many literary works were originally created as novels-feuilletons or cycles of reports specifically for Lidové noviny, and their book form was only secondary; literature was present in Lidové noviny in separate columns or supplements (Večery, Literární pondělí, survey for the book of the year), its own library was also published. Lidové noviny fundamentally influenced the intellectual milieu of Czech society for several decades: at a fundamentally important time and so significantly that their legacy and ethos live on to this day.

More about the exhibition here.

Evening social event
From 19:00 p.m. - Representative premises of the City Hall of Brno Central District (Dominikánská 2)
 

Second conference day, 13 June 2024

1st block of lectures  
9:00-10:15 a.m.

Refreshment break 
10:15-10:30 a.m.

2nd block of lectures
10:30-11:45 a.m.

Refreshment break 
11:45-12:00 a.m.

3rd block of lectures
12:00-13:15 p.m.

Ceremonial closing of the conference and recapitulation of the contents of the papers 
13:15-13:30 p.m.

Excursion for the conference participants: Visit to the Ethnographic Institute / MM

Palace of Noble Ladies, MM, Kobližná 1, Brno
14:00-16:00 p.m.

Visit to the permanent exhibition Tradiční kultura na Moravě v zrcadle času (Traditional culture in Moravia in the Mirror of Ages) and to the exhibition on the history of the Palace of Noble Ladies and the Foundation for the education and provision of destitute and orphaned girls of noble and middle-class origin living mainly in the territory of Moravia, founded by Johanna Francisca Prisca Countess Magnis of Strážnice née Bergová of Berg. The exhibition is presented in the chapel of the palace.

More about the permanent exhibition here.
 

Sponsors of the conference

• EMBA spol. s r.o.
• HrubyMOVING TRANSPORT a.s.