Lanark Highlands Basketry Museum
We aim to share knowledge of baskets made with local materials.
The Lanark Highlands Basketry Museum opened in 2016, in McDonald’s Corners Ontario.
It was located in a 1930’s stable, originally built to accommodate a horse and carriage for the doctor’s new house.
The museum reflected Ankaret's interest in basketry and the use of local materials in this ancient craft. It was located in the backyard of her McDonald's Corners house, it was a place to learn about basketry and the range of its applications, as well as meet Ankaret and share her experiences.
Now the musuem’s collection has moved to Middleville Museum, still in Lanark Highlands.
The majority of the baskets in the museum collection were collected or made by Ankaret Dean. Since the late 1970s, she travelled across North America teaching and weaving basketry. Later, she travelled internationally to Sweden, Japan and England for research, and later went to India and Bangladesh as a volunteer with CESO.
She is now retired and living in Perth, ON.
Melissa Cornacchia has been apprenticing with Ankaret Dean for the past 6 years and will be carrying on the Lanark Highlands Basketry Museum’s mission to share the love of basketry through education and teaching.
Welcome Melissa!
Photos of baskets from the museum collection