The National Wool Museum, in collaboration with RMIT University, has unveiled Quilts, Wool, Use: “You were not completely in, but you were not exactly out either,” – a deeply evocative exhibition that re-centres the stories and craft of Australia’s working-class women through the lens of wagga quilts.
These quilts, fashioned from recycled jute sacks, fabric scraps and repurposed garments across settler, wartime and Depression eras, bear witness to generations of resilience and resourcefulness “too often left out of official records.”
Curators Ricarda Bigolin and Chantal Kirby (D and K) explore these layered histories through fashion as a storytelling medium.
Drawing its title from Kate Grenville’s The Idea of Perfection, the show brings together D and K’s new garments, performance and film works alongside archival wagga quilts, wool industry artefacts, historical fashion and photography. This is not just an exhibition of objects – it’s a multi-sensory convergence of material culture and lived, layered memory.
Padraic Fisher, National Wool Museum Director, emphasises its emotional resonance: “Quilts, Wool, Use is more than an exhibition—it’s a handshake across time. It brings us closer to the lives and ingenuity of those who crafted and relied on these objects under difficult circumstances.”
As part of the program, the Museum will stage a Mega Clothing Swap hosted by The Clothing Exchange on Saturday 16 August (1–3pm), featuring textile sustainability workshops and a talk from Jenna Flood, The Slow Fashion Advocate.
Running until 2 November, Quilts, Wool, Use is open daily from 10am‑5pm. Entry is ticketed at the door; events can be booked via nwm.vic.gov.au.
