Using cloth, thread and paper to inspire conversations about Canada

What parts of Canadian history are worth revisiting? 

That's the question the Wellington County Museum & Archives  (formerly known as the Poor House) posed to Connections Fibre Artists for ARTeFActs, an exhibit that wrapped up last weekend. 

Invited artists searched the museum's archives for artifacts that resonated with them, with the goal of of reinterpreting a part of Canada's past for the Sesquicentennial. The result: 40 thought-provoking artworks constructed from cloth, thread, paper and mixed media. 

Silverware, cameras, carnival glass — even an old barber's chair — were chosen as jumping off points and were displayed alongside the artworks they inspired.

Fibre artist Chris Kummer used photos of the original residents of the Poor House as inspiration for her own portrait series. Each face was lovingly hand-stitched, a reminder of past Canadians who shared the very same space.

Self-proclaimed "threadpainter​" Sharron Deacon Begg chose a more personal route, immortalizing her maternal great-grandmother, Margaret Davidson Deacon, in a black-and-white thread painting.

Begg believes that the exhibit offered a fresh view on the past. 

"Viewers are able to learn a bit more about life in Canada during the last 150 years, while being able to appreciate the artifacts displayed with new inspired pieces of art."

ARTeFACTS: Connections to Wellington County moves to the Joshua Creek Heritage Art Centre in Oakville for November and December. 

For those who couldn't make the exhibit, here's a look at what was on display.