This week Carly Ciufo and I launched the ActiveHistory.ca museum theme week. This week was designed to encourage conversation between museum professionals and historians, while highlighting the labour of museum professionals. It was a pleasure to work with Carly as a co-editor and we are both very please with how the week turned out. A … Continue reading Active History Museum Theme
Carly Cuifo and I are organizing an Active History theme week about museums! I am super excited about this upcoming series of blog posts and thrilled with the responses we have received so far. Details about the theme week are below: Active History is organizing a 2019 theme week around museums and museums practice. Modeled … Continue reading Active History Museums Theme Week
My latest post, The Role of Canada's Museums and Archives in Reconciliation, can be seen over at activehistory.ca. The post looks at the TRC executive summary of the final report and calls to action in relation to museums and archives. The report features 94 recommendations to facilitate reconciliation and address the legacy of residential schools, … Continue reading The Role of Canada’s Museums and Archives in Reconciliation
While visiting the Dufferin County Museum and Archives (DCMA) recently I was able to take in the Gerald Richardson - Life Through The Lens exhibit that was in the Silo Gallery. The exhibit featured many photographs by Richardson that are on loan to the DCMA. Richardson was from Orangeville, Ontario in Dufferin County and is … Continue reading Gerald Richardson – Life Through The Lens
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. Revised Prompt: What heritage sites have you discovered this year that you love? Tell us all about them, and why … Continue reading Closure of Smith Museum of Stained Glass
I recently spent a few days in Chicago, Illinois. This is the sixth post in a series about the museums, architecture, public gardens, and art I visited while there. The first post can be viewed here.Photo credit: Paul Huber While exploring the waterfront on our first day in Chicago we ended up at Navy Pier. … Continue reading Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows
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
The When You Work In A Museum site is in the midst of running a Museum Dance Off contest. The contest features amusing videos put together by museum staff across the globe. The contest started three weeks ago with entries from 22 museums in 8 countries from 4 continents.The final round of the Dance Off … Continue reading When You Work In A Museum: Museum Dance Off
First Peoples Gallery. As previously mentioned I recently spent a day at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). One of the aspects that I struggled with during my visit was the sections of the museum devoted to Canada. The first floor of the ROM contains the Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada and the Daphne Cockwell Gallery … Continue reading Canadian History at the ROM
ROM. Photo Credit: It_ParisI grew up in a rural community that is within commuting distance to Toronto. Despite this proximity and my love for museums I never visited the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) while living there. Last week while visiting family in the area I took the opportunity to explore the ROM for the first … Continue reading Exploring History at the Royal Ontario Museum