Hooked Rugs — When a Hobby Becomes Art
Hull, Quebec, April 6, 1998 — On April 10, the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) will open Hooked on Rugs, an exhibition of more than 130 hooked rugs that showcase the history and richness of this popular art form in Canada.
Rug hooking is a folk art whose history reaches back more than a century to when the first hooked rugs appeared in Atlantic Canada and New England. At the beginning, rural women made hand-hooked rugs to cover the bare floors of their homes. This creative endeavour encouraged personal style and an increasing sense of design and technique. People soon began to sell their hooked rugs. By the 1940s, rug hooking had become a well-established hobby in Canada and in the United States. It has evolved into a popular means of personal expression, as well as a practical pastime.
More than 130 beautiful hooked rugs from the Museum's vast collection are on display in Hooked on Rugs, including Whales, by Emily Carr; Red Island, by Deanne Fitzpatrick; and one of the oldest rugs in the collection, Flower Basket, by Mrs. F.X. Paradis.
At various times during the exhibition, which runs from April 10 to January 24, 1999, artists will feature their works and share the fruits of their labours with us: in April-May, Noëlla Lévesque DeBlois from Saint-Pierre-d'Orléans; in June-July, Nancy Edell from Hubbards, Nova Scotia; in August-September Miley Wetter from Calgary, Alberta; in October-November, Joan Foster from Springdale, Newfoundland; and in December-January, Ann Hallett from Coldwater, Ontario.
Coming at the end of April, watch for a special Hooked on Rugs section on the Museum's Web site in the Virtual Museum.
Information (media):
Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7169
Senior Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7167
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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