Common Thread

Experience Common Thread at Kamloops Museum, where wool’s journey connects culture, history, and community through engaging displays and artifacts.

Showcasing how wool makes a transformative journey—from the landscape to the workshop, to yarn, to clothing, and beyond, Common Thread at the Kamloops Museum and Archives is a celebration of the materials and processes behind our region’s wool and natural fibre production.

Just as wool is spun into something lasting, this exhibition echoes how we create and preserve history by turning fleeting moments into enduring cultural treasures. You’ll explore the connections between ranching, retail, and the art of wool-making, discovering how these threads intertwine with our community and culture.

With a blend of artifacts, images, videos, and interactive elements, Common Thread creates a warm and inviting space where stories are shared, work is celebrated, and culture comes alive. Whether you’re a history buff, a craft enthusiast, or just curious, this exhibition offers a cozy, creative experience that weaves together the fabric of our shared heritage. The interactive elements ensure that you’re not just a spectator but an active participant in the celebration of our history and culture.

With interlacing artifacts, images, videos, and ways to actively participate, Common Thread stages the museum as a place for gathering and sharing stories, sharing work, and sharing culture. A space of warmth and togetherness timed with the arrival of cooler weather, the exhibition aims to weave a varied sense of community through a confluence of ideas and natural and cultural factors that bind us together.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, the museum will be hosting a series of activities in connection to Common Thread, including a free drop-in textile circle every Wednesday morning starting on September 25 and a monthly discussion entitled Things We Carry With Us: A Fabric, Clothing, and Culture Gathering Series, which explores cultural traditions and ancestral legacies of fabric and fashions as guided by local cultural communities.