The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto acquires the “Widad Kawar Collection of Arab Dress and Heritage Arts,” a collection assembled by Palestinian art historian and collector Widad Kamel Kawar over decades. According to the reporting, the acquisition brings nearly 600 items to the museum, including textiles, accessories, garments, and other cultural objects. The collection is described as documenting everyday life across the Levant region and West Asia through clothing and material culture.
The materials span multiple types of dress and related artifacts, with the emphasis on how these objects reflect daily use and cultural heritage. The ROM’s acquisition places the collection within the museum’s holdings in Canada, making the items available for future research, interpretation, and public viewing through the museum’s programs. The sources characterize the collection as a major addition focused on Arab dress and heritage arts, assembled by Kawar for preservation and study prior to its transfer to the ROM.
