V&A Dundee has launched the first major tartan exhibition in Scotland in 30 years. Set to be a major event in 2023’s cultural calendar, the exhibition also marks the 5th anniversary of Scotland’s design museum.
Celebrating tartan and its global impact, the exhibition explores how tartan has connected and divided communities worldwide, how it has embraced tradition, expressed revolt, and inspired great works of art as well as playful and provocative designs.
Tartan at V&A Dundee brings together a dazzling selection of more than 300 objects from over 80 lenders worldwide, illustrating tartan’s universal and enduring appeal through iconic and everyday examples of fashion, architecture, graphic and product design, photography, furniture, glass and ceramics, film, performance and art.
The exhibition features loans from across Scotland and around the world, including Chanel, Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Tate, V&A, National Museums of Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, National Theatre of Scotland, The Royal Collection, Fashion Museum Bath, the Highland Folk Museum and more, many of which are being shown together in Scotland for the first time.
The exhibition takes a radical new look at tartan, combining historical objects with the contemporary and is laid out in five sections where visitors can immerse themselves in the world of tartan.
In addition, V&A Dundee has asked the public to contribute to the exhibition. This will be The People’s Tartan, an eclectic selection of objects and memories that will spark recognition and nostalgia. To commemorate this landmark exhibition, V&A Dundee has commissioned Kinloch Anderson to design a new tartan to be used as the museum’s exclusive tartan and developed a range of merchandise in collaboration with designers in Scotland.
Click here to find out more about this exhibition.
