Digital Threads: Textiles | Art | Technology.

TEXTILE MUSEUM OF CANADA RECEIVES SECOND SIGNIFICANT GRANT FOR NEW WEB PROJECT!

TORONTO October 1, 2006 The Textile Museum of Canada (TMC) has received a significant contribution ($452,923) from Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Culture Online Program to create Digital Threads: Textiles | Art | Technology. The latest in a series of Web initiatives, Digital Threads will tell compelling stories of Canadian identity through the work of some of the country’s most important contemporary artists.

Digital Threads will provide access to 17 years of the TMC’s contemporary exhibition programming and present an innovative “idea space” exploring new artist projects by Jennifer Angus (Toronto/Madison WI); Joey Berzowska (Montreal); Kai Chan (Toronto); Ruth Scheuing (Vancouver); and Samuel Thomas (Niagara Falls). Appreciation of these works will be enhanced through technology, with some existing solely in the “virtual” world. Digital Threads will also make the Textile Museum ’s permanent collection fully available online, with the addition of 3,500 more artifacts to our publically-accessible database. Visitors will be able to explore the collection of the TMC 24 hours a day, from anywhere in the world.

Nataley Nagy, Executive Director at the TMC states:

“This is another major step forward for the TMC. At the conclusion of this project, we will have every artifact in our permanent collection available online with high detail zooming interactivity. More than 50 exhibitions and the work of 180 contemporary artists will also become publicly accessible on our Web site for the very first time.”

The TMC aims to offer an engaging experience to all visitors, both online and in-house. An exhibition gallery on the second floor will become a digital photography studio where visitors can get a behind-the-scenes view of the action and interact with project staff. Production begins in late September of 2006.

Since 2001 the Museum has made significant investments into online programming, artifact digitization and new media technologies. First with Cloth & Clay: Communicating Culture and then with Canadian Tapestry: The Fabric of Cultural Diversity, the TMC continues to win awards with its new media applications. John Dalrymple, Director of Development at the Textile Museum states that “the scale and quality of our Web projects, the public response and the awards we have won are a significant achievement for a mid-sized institution like the TMC.” Digital Threads is a follow-up to the previous Canadian Tapestry (www.canadiantapestry.ca) Web initiative, reuniting the award-winning team. Partners include: ecentricarts inc., Willoughby Associates Ltd., Arius3D, Computing in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Toronto and Concentric Media. The TMC recognizes the financial support provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage via the Canadian Culture Online Program.