Mississippi Valley Textile Museum launches virtual exhibition exploring identity, fashion and queer stories

The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (MVTM) has launched a new virtual exhibition highlighting the experiences of members of the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community and the role clothing plays in developing self-expression, identity and belonging.

The online exhibition, Fashioning Identity: Clothing and the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community of the Mississippi Valley, officially launched on Sunday, June 7, 2026 as part of the Digital Museums Canada Community Stories collection.

Developed over the course of the past two years “by and for the queer community,” the project features the personal stories of nine individuals from within the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Mississippi Valley who share how fashion and clothing have helped shape their identities and life journeys.

The exhibition aims to represent members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community on their own terms while encouraging visitors to connect through shared experiences and recognize that they are not alone in their journeys of self-discovery.

Through a variety of photographs, interview clips and personal reflections, the virtual exhibition explores how clothing can function as much more than a practical necessity. For many people, it is a crucial means of expression, connection, solidarity and resistance.

“This online exhibition empowers folks to tell their stories with their voices and preserve queer culture — a culture that is historically and presently marginalized,” the museum said in a media release.

The exhibit intends to shines a spotlight on the small but vibrant 2SLGBTQIA+ community that exists throughout the Mississippi Valley region.

“The idea for this exhibition was sparked in 2022 while I was an intern at the MVTM,” explained Laila Hack, Outreach, Engagement, and Development Coordinator. “I had always found clothing and all it could signal interesting, and I’d had a vague idea of an exhibition about the importance of fashion in creating and maintaining identity for a while at that point.”

At this time, the museum had just become the first Rainbow Registered museum in Canada and had been working with the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community for years. “As a queer person myself, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to weave all of these threads together; community, identity, textiles, and authentic storytelling by and for a marginalized community,” continued Hack.

The participants were invited to get involved in the exhibit after the MVTM reached out to the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community directly and through word-of-mouth chat within the community.

“We weren’t interested in finding a “perfect” participant who told a particular story- we offered an open mic for the community to share with us,” Hack told Lanarkist.

Each participant shares a unique relationship with clothing, demonstrating how style can evolve alongside personal growth, confidence and identity. While their experiences and stories differ, common themes of self-expression, acceptance and resilience emerge throughout the exhibition.

Among the participants is Nils Hamster, who said taking part in the project offered an opportunity to reflect on the connection between fashion and identity.

“I was honoured to participate in this project with the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum,” Hamster said. “It was a privilege to share my personal journey of self-expression through fashion and to explore the significance of clothing in shaping identity within this community.”

Hack told Lanarkist that each of the nine participants is at a different stage in both their lives and their personal style journeys, offering visitors a wide range of perspectives and experiences to explore.

“Clothing is such a deeply personal thing that reflects how you feel, what you think, how others see you, and how you see yourself,” Hack emphasized. “Not everyone has the privilege of truly choosing to curate their own style — whether those limiting factors be cost, access, safety, size, or otherwise — but seeing someone be so completely themself and express that through clothing is a special experience.”

“I hope viewers take the time to sit down and play through each full interview, and connect through their storytelling,” she said.

The bilingual exhibition is available in both English and French and includes full interviews, photographs and multimedia content designed to preserve and celebrate local queer history. Museum officials say the project represents an important step in documenting stories that have often been overlooked in traditional historical records.

“As we are unable to often find 2SLGBTQIA+ histories in our community, knowing that 2SLGBTQIA+ people were always here, though not always free to be their true selves,” said Michael Rikley-Lancaster, Executive Director and Curator of the MVTM. “I’m humbled and ecstatic to capture some of our current 2SLGBTQIA+ community’s stories through their clothing and life experience,”

The exhibition was developed with support from Digital Museums Canada, an investment program managed by the Canadian Museum of History. It is now available online and can be accessed through the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum’s website.