Resistant Fibres: We Make It Together

By: ArtBank / 20 October 2025

A woman speaking to people seated in a space with artworks on the wall.Julie Graff, curator of Resistant Fibres, speaks to drop-in session participants in the Âjagemô Exhibition Space.

Unlike a traditional gallery, Âjagemô, the Canada Council for the Arts’ exhibition space, is located in a transitory area—the lobby of 150 Elgin in Ottawa—where it intersects with the daily movement of visitors and passersby. In a welcome departure from the ordinary, it becomes more than just a place to view art and invites people to pause, reflect and connect with art and culture from Canada in a vibrant and welcoming environment.

True to the Algonquin word Âjagemô, meaning “crossroads,” the space creates opportunities for dialogue, creativity and meaningful community connection.

Several people standing around a table laid out with square textile pieces.Saada El-Akhrass, Julie Graff, and Greta Grip work with participants to add squares to a collaborative textile project.

A space for reflection and making

From beaded fire bags to quilts, from unstitched garments to tapestries woven with intention, the works in the Resistant Fibres exhibition, on view until May 2026, brings together a selection of works of art from the Art Bank that explores textiles as materials of resistance, joy, healing and community.

These themes extend beyond the gallery walls and into the experience of making. This year, Âjagemô becomes a hub for hands-on engagement through Sesabínsan & Kegón—meaning little ropes & other things in Algonquin. In the space, the public is invited to pick up a needle, contribute to a collaborative textile piece and take part in workshops that spark dialogue and creative exchange.

Several people seated around tables talking and assembling textile squares. Participants create textile squares during a drop-in session in the Âjagemô Exhibition Space.

Many colourful textile squares laid out on a flat surface.Some of the squares contributed by makers across Canada for a collaborative textile project.

“We had the idea of organizing workshops and opening up the exhibition space for creation in the very early planning stages. Textile is ubiquitous—and it carries stories and intimacy and love, not only through the finished object but also—and perhaps most of all—through the act of making itself. Whether as part of a professional practice or by an amateur or novice, the making is at the heart of what makes textile arts beautiful. And so, it became obvious that we had to activate the space through action, by offering workshops that would bring together people from various walks of life through a shared desire to create,” explains curator Julie Graff, who emphasizes the importance of public programming for the Resistant Fibres exhibition. 

Come make with us

📅 Save the dates for upcoming sessions with artists and community workshops. Drop in to stitch, chat or simply sit with the work. The next session will take place on Wednesday, November 19, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., with Two-Spirit Anishinaabe beadwork artist and entrepreneur, jayde micah. Register here.

Visit Sesabá½·nsan & Kegá½¹n / Threads & Things to learn about other upcoming activities in the Âjagemô Exhibition Space.

📲 Not in the Ottawa-Gatineau area? Explore the exhibition virtually and access behind-the-scenes stories through the Art Bank Web App. 

 

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