51¸£Àû

Barb Hunt: #MeToo – Tarana Burke

I have textiles in my blood. 
-Barb Hunt, Wendy Wersch Memorial Lecture (2013) 

Artist , who now lives in Winnipeg and considers this city her adopted home, was born into an Irish, Scottish and English settler family of farmers, quiltmakers and weavers. On the O’Reilly family farm in rural Ontario, one of her grandmothers, a quiltmaker, kept and sheared sheep, while her other grandmother was also a quiltmaker and her aunt was a weaver, a descendent of English weavers. An ornate marriage quilt gifted to her by one grandmother, meant only for display, shaped her understanding that craft could be both practical and decorative. Her mother’s professional role as a nurse instilled within her an ethic of care for the body. On her paternal side, her grandfather, having survived the trenches of the First World War, developed a pacifist ideology that was later adopted by her father who chose a non-combat military role in the Canadian Merchant Marine.^[1] 

Hunt began transforming these inherited skills and philosophies into an artistic practice during post-secondary studies at the University of Manitoba School of Art, where she received a Diploma in Studio Art. She continued her schooling later at Concordia University in Montreal, completing a Master of Fine Arts degree with a specialization in Fibres. Hunt then began a career as a professor at a number of universities. She taught visual arts at Western University, Queen’s University, and Memorial University of Newfoundland (Grenfell Campus). While at her longest teaching post at MUN, she received the President’s Award for Outstanding Research. Hunt’s art has been exhibited across Canada and internationally. She has received several grants from Canada Council for the Arts and has been awarded artist residencies in Canada, Paris and Ireland. Her family’s layered histories, the textile traditions of Newfoundland, and her feminist perspective culminate in an artistic practice that focuses on mourning rituals, war, and the natural environment.^[2] 

Feminism in particular helped Hunt understand the dynamics of oppression and, as an “angry young feminist”,^[3] her rage and activism fueled her artistic practice. Feminism, along with craftivism,^[4] gave her the framework to critique and challenge the patriarchy and thus feminize the world. Taking inspiration from early feminists who made art for social change, Hunt creates sculptures and installations by re-purposing old textiles and employing stitching to bring attention to current social justice issues and honour the humble hand-work of women.^[5] 

Hunt’s series Enthrall / In Thrall is an excellent example of her creativity.It features vintage hostess aprons that she altered by embroidering them with feminist quotations and slogans. With these works, Hunt upends traditional gender roles and sexist ideologies, replacing them with declarations of feminist power. Although Hunt began collecting these aprons in the 1970s, it was not until 2015 that she devoted her attention to making this body of work.^[6]  Recently, Hunt generously donated three of these pieces to the University’s art collection. 

The title that Hunt has given this series is well-suited to the only article of clothing she could think of that is “both domestic and sexy”.^[7]  The first word in the title, “enthrall”, means “to capture the fascinated attention of”. Hunt uses this term to allude to the alluring, strange feminine power of these delicate sheer aprons. Many years ago, she recalled reading the following advice: “to keep your husband, you should greet him at the door wearing a see-through apron and nothing else.”^[8] The second part of the title incorporates the word “thrall” which originates from the Old Norse term referring to a slave, servant or someone in bondage or subjugation. In fact, aprons have long symbolized stringent expectations of women to perform their sexuality for the pleasure of men. There is a similarity between the 1950s-era aprons that Hunt uses in her work and prehistoric iterations. Made of string and a weighted knotted fringe that would sway when worn, it is theorized that these aprons from thousands of years ago were also meant to be more seductive than practical.^[9] The patriarchal constructs from which these garments emerged are thus long established. 

The three embroidered aprons that Hunt gifted to the University feature quotes from third- and fourth-wave feminists Tarana Burke, Caitlin Moran and Laurie Penny. For example, Hunt stitches Moran’s words “Why on earth have I, because I’m a woman, got to be nice to everyone?” onto a sheer, green apron covered in delicate leaves and flowers. The blunt, challenging tone of Moran’s words from her bestselling memoir-manifesto How to Be a Woman ^[10] is a striking contrast to the apron’s materiality. Hunt’s inclusion of this text radically changes the apron from a symbol of domesticity into a work of art protesting conventional societal expectations that women be polite and accommodate others regardless of their own feelings. 

A second apron features bright pink and red appliquéd roses that double as pockets. It bears embroidery added by Hunt in lettering that reads “We grow up learning that someone is always looking at us and checking for misbehaviour.”^[11]  This proclamation by Laurie Penny speaks to the hyper-vigilance young girls and women experience in controlling their own behaviour. Constantly monitored and critiqued, most women are taught to manage their body, physical appearance, and tone to meet often misogynistic societal expectations. Hunt’s deliberate use of needle and thread to embed Penny’s words onto the apron transforms it from an object associated with compliance and service into a sculpture about autonomy and resistance. 

On the third apron Hunt gifted to the University, pictured above, sheer blue fabric features a floral pattern in dark thread that is trimmed with a scalloped black edge. In a powerful act of solidarity, Hunt elected to densely embroider the hashtag “#MeToo” in large sans serif font across the middle of the apron using black and blue thread. 

“#MeToo” refers to the movement begun in 2006 by activist Tarana Burke to support survivors of sexual violence. Burke began her activism in the 1980s in the Bronx, New York, when she was involved in the youth organization 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement. There, she launched initiatives in response to racial discrimination, housing inequality, and economic justice. Later, upon moving to Selma, Alabama, Burke shifted her efforts to provide safe spaces and resources for those who experienced sexual violence. She founded the grassroots movement Me Too to support other young Black women and girls who, like herself, were sexual violence survivors. The #MeToo hashtag went viral in 2017 when actress Alyssa Milano encouraged survivors to share their experiences online ^[12] . Burke’s activism has brought international awareness to the systemic nature of sexual violence, expanded survivor resources, and reshaped global discussions around consent and bodily autonomy. 

Hunt’s choice to boldly letter “#MeToo” against the delicate fabric of the vintage apron makes the reality of gender-based sexual violence urgently apparent. Adding this simple but powerful hashtag eliminates shame and provides a sense of community and affirmation amongst survivors.     

By sewing the powerful words of contemporary feminists onto thrifted aprons first made and worn by women some seventy years ago, Hunt invites a provocative conversation across generations of women and feminists. Delicate fabrics are transformed from wearable garments to sculptures that boldly proclaim feminist truths. To imagine women donning Hunt’s altered aprons radically changes the power dynamic between the wearers and those who encounter them. Her Enthrall / In Thrall series platforms gender-critical voices from equity-deserving communities. Hunt’s deliberate choice of embroidery as a technique is significant too: by wielding the needle like a sword, she immortalizes marginalized feminist voices in true craftivist fashion, establishing craft media as a site of political resistance that defies the patriarchy.

Déandra Grace 
Curatorial Practicum Intern 
December 2025 

Déandra Grace is a Barbadian curator, filmmaker, and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans film, fine and digital art. Rooted in her Caribbean heritage, her practice explores femininity, sexuality, spirituality, nationalism, and migration, often reflecting the intersection of personal identity and collective experience. Beginning in theatre and dance, her work has evolved into a dialogue between self and society. She holds a BFA in Creative Arts (Film) from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, and is currently reading for an MA in Cultural Studies (Curatorial Practice) at the University of Winnipeg. For Déandra, art is both catharsis and conversation. 

Reference in addition to those in Endnote citations:

Lerner, Loren and Anderson, Janice and Stride, Shannon and Antaki, Karine (eds). , Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art, 2025.

Endnotes  

^[1] Barb Hunt, , Wendy Wersch Memorial Lecture (Winnipeg: Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art, November 3, 2013). Accessed November 16, 2025.

^[2] Barb Hunt, . Accessed November 16, 2025.

^[3]  (Winnipeg: Gallery 1C03, 51¸£Àû, November 13, 2025).

^[4] Craftivism is a combination of the words craft and activism. See Rachel Fry,  (Halifax, Saint Mary’s University, 2014). Accessed December 2025. 

^[5] Ignite the Arts,  Accessed December 9, 2025.

^[6] Leona Herzog, (Winnipeg: Galerie Buhler Gallery, Hôpital St. Boniface Hospital, 2019). Accessed November 23, 2025.

^[7] Barb Hunt, , Artist website. Accessed on November 16, 2025.

^[8]  Barb Hunt, “Enthrall – In Thrall”, Unpublished Artist Statement, July 2025.

^[9] Elizabeth Barber, Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times (New York, W. W. Norton, 1995) and Barb Hunt, “Enthrall – In Thrall”, Artist website.

^[10] Caitlin Moran, , Chatelaine, updated August 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2025.

^[11] Laurie Penny, . Accessed November 16, 2025.

^[12] Tarana Burke, , Author website. Accessed November 16, 2025.