Dress and Textile Specialists Conference 2024
Conference 2024 – Power and Representation
The theme of these year’s DATS conference is Power and Representation.
Our conference programme is now available click here to view.
Please join us on 10 and 11 2024 at the V&A Dundee, Scotland. Thursday will include presentations, visits and the DATS AGM followed by a private view of Kimono exhibition and an opportunity to gather for dinner at Dundee Contemporary Arts. Friday will be dedicated to presenters and we’re pleased to welcome the conference keynote, Andrew Ibi, curator of The Missing Thread exhibition (Somerset House, 2023-2024).
What to expect from the DATS conference guided visit options:
The McManus
At The McManus we have a small collection of Dundee made Victorian dresses – from Mary Souter who ran Maison Souter on the Nethergate, to John Easson, a draper who set up his store Le Marche Anglo-Parisian from the late 1850s. Some preliminary research has been done on these makers but we have a lot to learn. Are these items finely made? Were they the height of fashion for their time? And how does the collection compare to similarly sized cities in the Victorian period? We would love for you to come, take a look and share your thoughts.
Verdant Works
Visit The Verdant Works Museum: The Fabric of Dundee and step into the heart of Dundee’s industrial past in this 1833 textile mill. Join Collections Curator Mel Ruth Oakley to see a trio of items from the costume collection and discuss the difficulties collecting the clothing worn by the working class who manufactured the textile, jute. This will be followed by a demonstration of the textile machinery which was used to turn jute from fibre to fabric.
V&A Dundee Scottish Design Galleries
A member of the V&A Dundee team will introduce you to the galleries, talk about their conception and future plans. You’ll have time to explore and ask any specific questions you may have.
Conference booking is open via Ticket Tailor
DATS is offering up to four bursaries to UK and Ireland DATS members who require financial assistance to attend the conference. To apply, please email Lisa Mason with a short note about yourself, why attendance is important and what help you may need.
V&A Dundee is directly across the main road from Dundee railway station, we recommend arriving by rail.
With many thanks.
DATS Committee.