PROGRAMME OF FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Live talks take place at the University Women's Club in Mayfair. We stream some talks, usually from overseas speakers, via Zoom. Whenever possible, talks are recorded and made available to members via the Members' Area of the website.

We also organise trips and tours for members and their guests. These are advertised in the monthly newsletters.

Our next event

Wednesday, September 24th, 2025

Lecture by Anna-Louise Meynell on 'Tracing Transitions: Textile histories in the borderlands of Undivided Bengal and Northeast India'

Via Zoom. 1800.

This talk will explore tribal textiles of Meghalaya and Assam along the shifting borders with Undivided Bengal, until the creation of Bangladesh and the international border. It will introduce the ethnic groups of these areas, the fibres, looms and textiles, unpacking the impact of significant socio-political change on the tribal textile practices.

The talk follows the launch of the book Textiles from Bengal: A Shared Legacy, which will be reviewed in the autumn issue of the ORTS journal.

Members and their guests welcome. Please contact Dimity Spiller for information.

More dates for your diary

Thursday, 15th October 2025

Lecture by Dorothy Armstrong: ‘Navigating the past through its rugs’, at the University Women’s Club. 18.00 for 18.30.

Wednesday, 24th November 2025

Qaisra Khan and Rowan Bain will be discussing ‘William Morris and Art from the Islamic World.'

University Women's Club. 1800 for 18.30

Society talks are normally held at the University Women's Club

in South Audley Square just behind the Dorchester Hotel. Talks start at 7pm.

Both Green Park and Hyde Park Corner tube stations are a short walk away. Free street parking

after 6.30pm (Tilney St, Stanhope Gate, Hill St, Waverton St, Curzon St, Chesterfield Gardens)

Guests are welcome to attend for £7 a single lecture. Students £5.

Membership of one year for all events from £30.

EVENTS IN DETAIL

December 8th 2021 at 18.00 via Zoom: AGM and Show and Tell

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17th November 2021 at 7 pm: Lecture by Janie Lightfoot

Every Thread Another Journey: A Story of Textile Conservation Janie Lightfoot is a director and senior conservator at Janie Lightfoot...

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20th October 2021 at 7 pm: Lecture by Eleanor Sims

The Representation of Textiles and Carpets in Classical Persian Painting Eleanor Sims is an independent scholar who makes her...

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6th October 2021 at 18.00 pm: Louise Teague Member's Talk on her collection of Lakai textiles.

Louise Teague was a GP in a large inner-city practice in Wandsworth, London, for 25 years. Her husband Dr Ken Teague was the Curator for...

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22nd September 2021 at 19.00 pm: Chloe Sayer will lecture on The Textile Arts of Mexico

Chloë Sayer with a Maya huipil (woman's tunic), woven on the backstrap loom in Magdalenas Aldama, Chiapas. Cotton was used for the...

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27th July 2021 at 11.30 am: Private visit to see the collections of Professor Paul R. Benjamin

In February 2019 Professor Benjamin gave a talk to the Society on his collections, in which he revealed the remarkable range of designs...

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21st July 2021 at 6 pm: Members’ Textile Talk with Sheelagh Killeen

ORTS member Sheelagh was a costume designer for theatre, television and film for over 30 years before running her own art and literature...

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12th September 2021 at 12 noon: Summer Garden Party

Members and their guests are invited to the ORTS late summer garden party, this year in South London. Further details have been...

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25th May 2021 at 6 pm: From Sarong to Sari: Rabindranath Tagore's fascination with the batik of Java

A talk by Dr Maria Wronska-Friend In 1927 Rabindranath Tagore visited Java and Bali and became fascinated with the local culture. He...

21st April 2021 at 6 pm: AGM followed by Show and Tell from committee members. Via Zoom.

24 March 2021 Macau and its Textile Trade with Portugal: a talk by Dr Maria João Ferreira

Following the establishment of Macau in 1557 at its strategic position near Guangzhou (Canton), the port became a very important hub for...

24th February 2021: People of the Wind - a 1976 film about the Bakhtiari migration.

Antony Wynn, seen here dressed partially in Bakhtiari dress, introduced the film, broadcast to members via Zoom. People of the Wind is a...

January 20th 2021 A talk by Chris Aslan: A Carpet Ride to Khiva.

This lecture told the story of the UNESCO silk carpet workshop established by Chris Aslan, and also delved into 15th century Timurid...

10th February 2021: Members' Collections: Claude Delmas talks about her ikat collections

Following a career in Higher Education and teacher training, Claude took up weaving, with ikats from India and Central Asia as her main...