Tactile Textiles Inspiration Day: From Hidden Memory to Connection
What if a garment could be more than fabric alone? What if textiles could awaken memories, bring a sense of calm, and spark conversation when words begin to fade? This May, MoMu invites you to Tactile Textiles Inspiration Day, where you will discover how tactile art can play a meaningful role in the care of people with dementia and their caregivers.
The afternoon is organised in collaboration with WZC Immaculata and the Regional Expertise Centre for Dementia Orion (in partnership with PGN), and is part of a creative trajectory developed in 2024-2025, with support from the Houillogne-Hanne Fund (King Baudouin Foundation). Expect no traditional study day, but a warm encounter between fashion, care, and sensory experience.
Guided by fashion designers Elisabeth Claes and Harald Ligtvoet, residents and caregivers created “keepsake garments” and a shared tactile textile artwork: durable, sensory objects designed to be touched, held, and remembered. Here, textiles become a gentle language, still accessible when memory and words start to fade.
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The insights from this trajectory have been collected in a practical handbook for museums and care organisations that want to develop their own tactile art projects. During the inspiration day, you will get a behind-the-scenes look as well as concrete tools to set up similar initiatives.
The recognisability and tactility of materials create inner calm; creating together breaks social isolation. The garment becomes a sensory stimulus for the person who forgets, and a source of comfort for those who do not want to forget them.
The Tactile Textiles Inspiration Day will take place on Tuesday, May 19. More information can be found here