Common Thread exhibit bringing together cultural communities at Kamloops Museum

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Museum and Archives’ (KMA) fall exhibit, Common Thread, has several workshops set for December and into the new year, bringing attention to different cultural groups in Kamloops.

This monthly series will explore the cultural traditions and ancestral legacies of fabric, fashion and textiles as guided by local cultural communities. For the month of December, the museum is highlighting Secwépemc heritage along with the Kamloops Aboriginal Friendship Society.

“We are doing a series called, ‘The Things We Carry With Us.’ The KMA works with a lot of different cultural groups and one of the things we’ve noticed over time is often when the culture groups are coming into the museum, they are wanting to share clothing and textiles and the things that we use to share culture. And so each month, we are going to be highlighting a different cultural community in Kamloops and offering space within the exhibition to share those textiles and clothing,” said Meghan Stewart, Kamloops Museum Educator.

January will feature the Kamloops Chinese Cultural Association before a wrap up celebration in February.

With interlacing artifacts, images, videos and ways to actively participate, Common Thread stages the museum as a place for gathering and sharing stories, sharing work and sharing culture — all connecting back to a time when people repaired and created, instead of throwing out and buying new.

“I think this might be my favorite exhibition we’ve done since I’ve been here,” said Stewart. “It’s really tactile, it’s hands on, it’s sensory, it’s engaging for all age groups. We see the table behind us here, we have some carting combs and drop spinners. Yesterday, I was watching a family with little tots, all the way up to older folks coming in and really getting on hands on with this exhibition.”