Museum of Manky Tea Towels

Oliver Bates (he/him) and Ben Kirman (he/him)

Marvel at our collection of manky tea towels. We have been saving tea towels across the country from behind radiators, the backs of drawers, charity shops and boxes in lofts. Tea towels tell stories about the places we have been, the people we love, and the tea that we have drunk. They contain politics and history - they are carefully designed as a lens on places and people, and we see and use them every day. They carry traces of our imperfect washing skills, scorches from use as makeshift oven mitts, and the odd bit of cat sick.

Fundamentally, tea towels are the legacy of civilisation. At the end of history only manky tea towels will remain. We tell our stories by the stains we leave behind.

The Museum of Manky Tea Towels celebrates the utility and absurdity of tea towels. It is an interactive, open exhibit that will be available for everyone during the festival. It features a collection of hundreds of tea towels from around the world to explore. You may use the museum towels to dry your mugs, or you can take, modify and enhance a tea towel if you have an idea on how to improve them. The museum provides fabric pens, glue, tape, and dye to help you transform one into your own. Please bring along any donations for the collection. Run them through the washer first, but the stains, rips and mank help tell the story!

NOTE WE DO NOT ACCEPT OR TOLERATE HAND TOWELS

http://manky.website