We stand in solidarity with Black, Indigenous, and POC communities
We firmly denounce police brutality and oppression towards Black, Indigenous, and POC communities. We understand that it is our responsibility to fight against systemic racism in Canada and globally. We stand with our artists, educators, colleagues, peers, and friends from these communities. The Textile Museum of Canada strives to be an inclusive space.
We recognize the colonial roots of Western museums, and that this history impacts what the Textile Museum of Canada is today. We will continue to educate ourselves and approach our work through a lens of equity and diversity, and we will use this momentum and the lessons learned to steer our processes and decisions now and forever.
To help inform our support we are gathering resources and taking time to read and listen; your voices are vital and we welcome dialogue.
At the Board of Trustees’ Governance Committee meeting on June 4, it was agreed that it is imperative to form an Equity & Diversity Committee as a standing committee of the Board, and steps will be taken to bring this before the Board in the coming weeks. We look forward to sharing more details and additional concrete actions as they develop.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the support of this movement, staff and Board have made personal donations to Black Lives Matter Toronto, Black Lives Matter US, Not Another Black Life Toronto, Black Youth Helpline, Nia Centre for the Arts, Change.org to boost the reach of the petition Justice for George Floyd, BAU Collective‘s COVID-19 Global Emergency Relief Fund for high risk Black folks, and Black Artist Network Dialogue (BAND). We encourage you to familiarize yourself with these and many other organizations, and to donate to this important cause, as you are able.