During the month of December I am participating in #reverb14 as a means of getting my writing habits back on track. I will be altering the prompts as needed to fit within the scope of this blog. Today's prompt is: When did you feel beautiful this year? Why? Altered prompt: Discuss a beautiful heritage project … Continue reading From Pulp and Paper to Community Hub
Changing Expectations: Parenthood and Work Balance
I've started, rewritten, and deleted this post a few times. I've been struggling with how to broach a topic that is intrinsically personal - pregnancy, parenthood, and workplace expectations - but has a need to be discussed more broadly. My partner and I are approaching a life changing event, the birth of our first child. As … Continue reading Changing Expectations: Parenthood and Work Balance
Parks, Public Art, and Community Gardens
I recently spent a few days in Chicago, Illinois. This is the second post in a series about the museums, architecture, public gardens, and art I visited while there. The first post can be viewed here.One of my favourite mornings in Chicago was spent wondering around Millennium Park and the numerous public gardens in the … Continue reading Parks, Public Art, and Community Gardens
Commodifying Archives
The July/August issue of Muse contains an article by Toni Lin on "The Role of Commodification in Archival Institutions." Lin does an excellent job of outlining the perceived pros and cons of commidification and the impact it can have on public access, archival funding, and preservation. The article concludes that some level of commodification may … Continue reading Commodifying Archives
A Quick Look At Northern Ireland
The bulk of the time I was in Ireland was spent in the Republic of Ireland. I did a day trip to Northern Ireland as part of an organized group. It was a really long day but it was nice to be able to see a couple of sites in Northern Ireland. The tour included … Continue reading A Quick Look At Northern Ireland
Local History and Artwork at the Galway City Museum
It rained a lot while I was in Galway. The rain seemed to come in bursts, it would rain for ten minutes and then it would be sunny, twenty minutes later it would rain for another ten minutes. In my mind a rainy day is a perfect day for a trip to a museum. The … Continue reading Local History and Artwork at the Galway City Museum
Shifting Priorities and Heritage Relevancy
The May/June issue of Muse included a number of short pieces focusing on relevancy, visitor engagement, and doing more with less resources. A short International Council of Museums (ICOM) writeup by Mannon Blanchette hit the issue squarely on the head by noting,"In the face of constant and rapid transformations, museums are trying to meet the … Continue reading Shifting Priorities and Heritage Relevancy
Nontraditional Events in Heritage Spaces
Last week I had the pleasure of attending a concert as part of Bon Soo (think Winterfest on a Northern Ontario scale). The concert featured two great traditional music groups, Dentdelion and Les Poules à Colin. The music was a great display of traditional music heritage and the preservation of Canadian francophone culture.In addition the … Continue reading Nontraditional Events in Heritage Spaces
Looking Forward: Heritage Activities in 2013
My last post of 2012 looked back some of my favourite heritage experiences of 2012. This post looks forward to 2013 and some of the heritage activities I'm excited about for the upcoming year. The winter issue of the Public Historian contains a review I wrote about a walking tour in Milwaukee. In April, I … Continue reading Looking Forward: Heritage Activities in 2013
Looking Back: Top Heritage Experiences of 2012
This past year has been filled with a variety of heritage focused experiences, archival moments, and history based exploration. Below are some of my favourite public history moments from the past year:The best museum experience I had this year was hands down my visit to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. … Continue reading Looking Back: Top Heritage Experiences of 2012