Marvel at our collection of manky tea towels. We have been saving tea towels across the country from behind radiators, the backs of drawers, corners of charity shops, and boxes in lofts.

Tea towels tell stories about the places we have been, the people we love, and the tea that we have drunk. They contain politics and history - they are designed as a lens on places and people, that we see and use every day. They carry traces of our imperfect washing skills, scorches from use as makeshift oven mitts, and the odd bit of cat sick.

Fundamentally, tea towels are the real legacy of civilisation. At the end of history only manky tea towels will remain. We tell our stories by the stains we leave behind.

The Museum of Manky Tea Towels celebrates the utility and absurdity of tea towels. It is an interactive, open exhibit that will be available for everyone during the festival. It features a collection of hundreds of tea towels from around the world to explore. You may use the museum towels to dry your mugs, or you can take, modify and enhance a tea towel to tell a new story.

Read more and donate to the museum of manky tea towels collection!

The zine of the Museum of Manky Tea Towels

The cover of The Zine of the Museum of Manky Tea Towels. Logo credit: @dotrogersting

If you’re thinking about starting your own tea towel museum or making manky tea towels yourself you should check out our zine which talks about who we are, why we’re doing this and how you might get involved in yourself.

Museum of Manky Tea Towels at Electromagnetic Field (EMF) 2026

Photo credit: Daphne Preston-Kendal, EMF camp July 2026

We hosted the Museum at EMF camp 2026 as an installation of the museum and a workshop for where attendees could make or mank up their own tea towels.