Conservation et présentation des lieux et collections de patrimoine textile : l’exemple de la fédération « Transmission du savoir-faire textile en Rhône-Alpes »

For many years now, several museums and heritage sites linked to the textile industries in the Rhône-Alpes region have been handicapped by the disappearance of the skills and savoir-faire associated with these industries, especially where the conservation, the repair and the mediation of textile making equipment is concerned. This awareness has led five museums to react and to try their best to preserve not only the technical, material heritage but also the immaterial heritage associated with it. Joined together in a federation, these museums are now thinking about the preservation, the promotion and the future of their collections. How must the museography of a place combine both the historical aspects of the site with a balanced presentation of the collection, so that everything seems coherent for the public ? How to respond to specific issues raised by welcoming the public and preserving the collections when the museum is part of a former industrial site or located in a traditional workshop? And finally, how to ensure the interpretation and mediation which are necessary for the proper understanding of the collections (especially of the textile equipment), when confronted with the decline and even the disappearance of technical know-how ? These are some of the questions to which the members of the federation are trying to find answers