Textile Museum of Canada facts for kids
Entrance to the Textile Museum of Canada
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| Established | 1975 |
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| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Type | Textile museum |
| Visitors | 29,190 |
| Public transit access |  St. Patrick |
The Textile Museum of Canada is a cool museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It's all about collecting, showing, and learning about textiles. Textiles are basically any kind of fabric or cloth, like carpets, clothes, and blankets!
History of the Museum
The Textile Museum of Canada first opened its doors in 1975. It was started by two people, Max Allen and Simon Waegemaekers. Back then, it was called the Canadian Museum of Carpets and Textiles.
The museum's first home was above an ice cream shop in a place called Mirvish Village. The first items in its collection came from textiles gathered during business trips. In 1989, the museum moved to its current location.
Today, the museum shows amazing art, crafts, and designs from all over the world. The museum also recognizes the history of the land it's on. They say their museum is on the traditional lands of several Indigenous groups. These include the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.
What You Can See: The Collection
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The Textile Museum of Canada has a huge collection! It has more than 15,000 textile items from all around the globe. These items show 2,000 years of textile history.
You can find all sorts of things there. This includes different kinds of fabrics, special cloths used for ceremonies, clothing, carpets, and quilts. They also have other related artifacts.
The museum often puts on special exhibits. These shows feature modern art and historical items. They use pieces from their own collection and sometimes borrow from others.
The museum also has a special library called the H.N. Pullar Library. It's a great place to find information about textiles that are made without big machines.
There are many fun things to do at the museum. They offer talks, group discussions, and workshops where you can learn new skills. You might even see music and dance performances! They also have hands-on activities, programs for schools, and public tours.
One cool project is called Canadian Tapestry: The Fabric of Cultural Diversity. This project puts pictures of 7,000 items from the museum online. Soon, they will add 3,500 more items for everyone to see!
Several of the museum's exhibits and books have won awards. Some of these award-winning projects include:
- Cloth & Clay: Communicating Culture (2003)
- Canadian Tapestry: The Fabric of Cultural Diversity (2006)
- A Terrible Beauty: An Installation (2006)
- Thor Hansen: Crafting a Canadian Style (2006)
Museum Connections
The Textile Museum of Canada works with other important groups. These include the CMA, the CHIN, and the Virtual Museum of Canada.
See also
