FACULTY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY | Exhibition
Inauguration: Cotton - Malmö in the colonial web

Cotton, a slightly rickety shrub whose fluffy seed balls revolutionised the textile industry in the late 18th century. This is the subject of a new exhibition that opens at Malmö City Archives.

When the Industrial Revolution took off in Great Britain, cotton and cotton textiles were the driving force, and when Malmö's first limited company was formed in 1855, Manufakturaktiebolaget, it was to spin and sell cotton thread. The work in the factories was hard and exhausting, with many women working there, but also men and even children.

The exhibition shows how cotton connects the factories in Malmö to the cotton plantations and slavery in the southern parts of the United States, and how technology and know-how were acquired from skilled British engineers.

During the opening ceremony, the exhibition will be presented by Pål Brunnström, Julie Goodrich and Liman ‘Poppy’ Zhang from Malmö University, and Linus Sollin from Malmö City Archives.

The exhibition will be open until April 2026.