Lisburn Museum handloom Donna Campbell weaver shortlisted in UK Heritage award

Donna Campbell, a linen damask weaver at Lisburn Museum, is one of only three other craftspeople to have been shortlisted in the UK awards which were created to secure the survival of endangered or critically endangered crafts.

The President's Award for endangered crafts was established in 2020 by Heritage Crafts president, the former Prince of Wales. Each year the President's Award presents £3,000 to a heritage craftsperson who will use the funding to ensure that crafts are passed on to the future.

Donna is a hand loom weaver, designer, and researcher with over 28 years of experience in industry having designed damask cloth that has featured in film and TV drama series, including Game of Thrones, Outlander and Dracula Untold. As one of two weavers at the museum, Donna gives daily damask weaving, card cutting and design demonstrations to tour groups, school groups, visitors and other in the Museum’s Weaving Workshop.

Lisburn museum holds one of the world’s largest collections of linen damask designs and cloths, reflecting Lisburn’s importance as a centre of the damask industry. Lisburn’s last handloom factory closed in the 1960s, and the museum has been the sole institution preserving the craft in the town since then. Annually, over 160,000 visitors visit the Museum’s Weaving Workshop to see the looms in action.

Donna said: “It is an honour to have my craft recognised in this way. Damask weaving is of huge historical significance and dates to the early 18th-century in Ireland. It was prized by royalty and aristocracy, and cloths featuring elaborate patterns, from armorial bearings to royal cyphers, were a specialty of firms in Lisburn, and the wider Lagan Valley. In Ulster, handloom damask weaving continued as a commercial craft until the end of the 1960s, from which point it has been kept alive within museum settings, including here at the Irish Linen Centre at the Lisburn Museum.”

“Authenticity is at the core of my craft. I am passionate about showcasing the design and weaving process to the thousands of people who visit the museum each year. Cloths woven from the museum have been presented to the Royal Family, prime ministers, VIPs and institutions, such as the Wallace Collection, and I’m delighted to add to the workshop’s reputation, and been shortlisted for this esteemed award.”

Jonathan Craig, chairman of the Communities and Wellbeing Committee said: “ The Irish Linen Centre has an important part to play to ensure the art of linen damask weaving is not forgotten and that knowledge is protected.

The winners will be announced at a very special reception taking place at Eltham Palace, London, on November 26, 2024. Damask weaving is listed as critically endangered by the Heritage Crafts Association with only four practitioners in the UK and Ireland. If successful, the £3,000 prize money will be used to purchase software and training which will digitally transform the design process and enable visitors to engage with damask design process.