Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library

The Manitoba Crafts Museum and Library is dedicated to providing access to the rich collections and to preserving the physical conditions and information value of the artifacts through the following methods:

• exhibits in the museum gallery that are changed three times yearly
• a research facility for students, historians, craftspeople and others interested in craft and as a central resource for craft information
• crafts focused library with historic and contemporary titles that is publicly accessible
• website: www.mcml.ca and a Virtual Museum of Canada Exhibit “Hands On!”: www.virtualmuseum.ca
• off-site exhibitions and events
• safe, secure and environmentally controlled storage area for the collection
• well populated database for the museum collection including catalogue information, images, locations and finding aids
• well structured public programs, educational school programs and tours
• host for craft workshops and as a venue for craft groups and others to hold events and educational opportunities
• gift shop stocked with items related to the museum collection and work by local craft artists
• site for volunteer and student learning opportunities

The museum collection contains over 10,000 artifacts and is a legacy of traditional handcrafts and tools from Manitoba in particular, as well as the rest of Canada. The Museum presents the material history of organizations such as the Crafts Guild of Manitoba and the Manitoba Women’s Institute, as well as the history of early, anonymous craftspeople from a wide range of ethnic origins whose contributions continue to shape Manitoba’s artistic and craft heritage.

The museum collection is integrally linked to the social, economic and political history of Winnipeg through many of our founding members who represented business, politics, the medical community, the academic community at the University of Manitoba, and new immigrants to Manitoba from the late 1920s through the 1960s. It also connects to the great Depression of the 1930s and volunteer work during the Second World War. The Guild continued to work through the 1950s and 1960s to foster recognition of the rich tradition of Inuit Carving, laying the foundation for its appreciation by the art community and broader Canadian Society.

Objects from other countries have been collected for cross-cultural comparisons, showcasing the similarities and differences that occur when available materials, climate, religious traditions, cultural values, and societal realities impact the art of the people.

The Library contains contemporary and historical books, magazines, scrapbooks and patterns for most craft disciplines. There are over 3,500 book titles and hundreds of patterns, magazines, pamphlets and resource materials.

The crafts represented in the museum and library include, but are not exclusive to, embroidery, beadwork, quill work, basketry, crochet, knitting, quilting, weaving, spinning, dyeing, paper arts, tatting, sewing, Inuit and Aboriginal stone sculpture, glass, woodwork and pottery.

The collections are of particular value and interest to those studying women’s history and the development of Canadian craft since the 1900s. With its exclusive focus on traditional and contemporary handcrafts, it is the only collection of its kind in Canada.