Julia Brucculieri, Curator and Exhibitions Manager at the Textile Museum of Canada, shares how the Museum uses textile arts to explore culture, history, and the human experience. She also discusses the impact of its latest exhibition, Always in Fashion, and the challenges and opportunities facing the Museum as it builds a renewed connection with Toronto audiences.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
The Textile Museum of Canada aims to inspire understanding of the human experience through textiles. We’re the only museum in Canada dedicated solely to textile arts. On May 1st, 2026, the Museum opened a brand-new exhibition, Always in Fashion, that highlights Indigenous designers who boldly challenge neocolonial frameworks in fashion while reclaiming cultural narratives through ancestral techniques and innovation.
What problem does it aim to solve?
The Textile Museum aims to provide a space that is inclusive and welcoming for our visitors. We hope that, through exhibitions like Always in Fashion, visitors will leave having learned something new – whether it be a technique, the name of an artist or designer they hadn’t heard of, or a historical or cultural fact. With this exhibition specifically, we also want to highlight contemporary Indigenous designers, while also reminding visitors that Indigenous fashion has always been in fashion.
When did you start/join it?
I started working with the Museum in December 2021, but work for Always in Fashion started as early as 2023.
What made you want to get involved?
I have a background in Fashion Journalism and completed a Master’s degree in Fashion Studies. To me, fashion and textiles have always gone hand in hand, so the Textile Museum just seemed like a natural fit. When I found out that we were going to be working with Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, guest curator of ‘Always in Fashion,’ on an exhibition highlighting Indigenous fashion designers and artists, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. This exhibition is unlike others the Museum has shown in the past, and it really showcases the breadth and talent of so many Indigenous designers and artists.
What was the situation like when you started?
When I started at The Museum, we had only recently re-opened from the second round of provincial COVID-19 closures. As was the case with many smaller cultural institutions and businesses, the closures hit us hard financially. We worked toward bringing our audiences back to the Museum in person, with community-oriented exhibitions guided by an ambitious multiyear plan. Unfortunately, a financial review made clear that our activities did not align with financial capacity at the time, and as a result, the decision was made to close temporarily, from February 2025 to October 2025.
Throughout the closure, our small team, along with Amber-Dawn Bear Robe, continued to work on Always in Fashion. Since its opening on May 1, it has garnered plenty of positive responses. This exhibition has contributed to our reopening success, helping to bring audiences back while also spotlighting more than 20 amazing Indigenous designers and artists working across Canada and the United States. We’ve also been running related workshops in person, giving our audiences another way to engage with the exhibition and the different techniques and materials featured in it.
How has it changed since?
Since our reopening, and with exhibitions like Always in Fashion on display, we have sold out all our workshops, attendance is increasing, and people seem to be loving what we are doing. We’re seeing a renewed interest in the Museum, which validates the work our team has been doing to keep the space active and lively.
What more needs to be done?
Our Museum, like many cultural institutions and organizations in Toronto (and Canada as a whole), faces several challenges, most notably a lack of secure funding and resources. Being that we’re a smaller museum, we also don’t have the same reach as some of the larger institutions, so we often fall into the “hidden gem” category. But we want people to know we’re here!
Our goal is to put the Museum on the map, to draw in new audiences, expand our programming reach, and continue to build financially viable revenue streams that support everything we do.
How can our readers help?
Visit our exhibitions (Always in Fashion is open until January 3, 2027!), take and share pictures (follow and tag us @textilemuseumofcanada), and invite your friends to come along! You can also attend our workshops and events, including our semi-annual fabric sales. If you have the means, make a donation to support the Textile Museum – every bit counts! Becoming a member at the Museum is also a huge help, and it comes with many perks. If you do want to get involved in some way, you can also sign up for our newsletter (available on our homepage), which is where we send out updates about events and programs.
Do you have any events coming up?
The Museum is launching a brand new exhibition on September 24th, Retracing Tatreez: Palestinian Embroidery through the 20th Century, that we believe will resonate with many audiences. On October 3 and 4, the Museum will be completely free to explore; you can see Always in Fashion and participate in some textile workshops. We also have monthly Indigenous-led workshops, with some spots still open.
Where can we follow you?
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
We really love working with the folks at Regent Park Sewing Studio (RPSS), a program run under the Centre of Learning & Development. They have supported the Museum with many programs and will be running a series of sewing workshops in September and October! The Community One Foundation is also an excellent charity to support, as their efforts empower 2SLGBTQIA+ communities through funding and recognition. The organization has a long history of achieving these mission goals through the values of Learning, Connection, Accountability, Advocacy, and Community.
