Who We Are

The Australian Tapestry Workshop (ATW) is an international leader in contemporary tapestry, collaborating with a diverse range of international and Australian artists to produce exceptional handwoven works of art.

Established in 1976, we have created over 500 tapestries in creative collaborations for nearly 50 years, promoting innovation and excellence in tapestry weaving and textile art. Located in Melbourne, Australia, our open studio space, bespoke Dye Lab and galleries are a creative hub for engagement with tapestry, textiles and contemporary art.

Internationally renowned for their vibrancy, technical accomplishment and inventive interpretation, our tapestries are hand woven using an adaptation of the traditional Gobelin technique; by which an image is formed by tightly packing layers of weft (horizontal threads) over warps (vertical threads).

We use the finest Australian wool grown using environmentally sustainable and humane animal practices which is dyed onsite in our bespoke dyelab. With a base palette of 368 colours, this close collaborative relationship between the weavers and dyer provides limitless interpretive possibilities.

ATW tapestries can be found across Australia at leading institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia, National Library, Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne and many other cultural institutions, as well as at prominent government locations including Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. ATW tapestries are also held in many corporate and private collections, and appear internationally, including in ten Australian embassies worldwide.

The ATW invites public and private tapestry commissions to be woven in our South Melbourne studio. We thrive on working with contemporary artists who seek to challenge our weavers and dyer by providing tapestry designs in various mediums including photography, painting, watercolour, collage and digital images.

The Australian Tapestry Workshop acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and create. We pay our respects to their Elders, both past and present. We acknowledge that this website contains the names and artworks of deceased Indigenous people.

Opening hours:

Tuesday – Saturday, 1 – 5pm

The ATW is closed on all Victorian public holidays.
The ATW administration office (for enquiries and deliveries) is open Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.

CLOSURE NOTICE: The Australian Tapestry Workshop will be closed 1 – 3.30pm, Wednesday 6 December for our annual staff lunch. We apologise for any inconvenience.