LEST WE FORGET: HOW WE WILL REMEMBER

Muse News | Michelle Wright

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In honour of our past, present and future soldiers, today’s article will take pause to look at Remembrance Day and how you can pay your respects to their sacrifice. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Remembrance Day.

 

War Memorial by Wiborg. Source. 

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany in Compiègne, France, marking the end of hostilities of the First World War. This armistice took effect “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” and on November 11, 1919 the first annual Armistice Day Ceremony was observed at Buckingham Palace. During World War II many countries changed the name to Remembrance Day. Ceremonies happen today all over the world in honour of the brave men and women who gave their lives and those who continue to serve in areas of conflict.

But where do these ceremonies take place? They happen at cenotaphs, in schools, community centers and parks, but they also take place in museums. Museums that first come to mind are military or war museums, for example the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, which has events all day today. There is a growing concern that once the generation who can remember the war firsthand pass on, how will their stories be told and how do we preserve them? Museums call upon those who remember and their descendants to help tell stories. Two examples of this are right here in Toronto at the Mackenzie House Museum and the Spadina House Museum, with another coming to Museums of Mississauga in September 2020.

From now until January 31, 2020 the Mackenzie House will host the exhibition Eaton’s Goes to War: Family, Memory & Meaning. The exhibition shows the lives of some of the 3327 employees of the T. Eaton Company from Toronto and Winnipeg who enlisted in World War I. John Craig Eaton, the president of the company, offered to pay his employees wages to enlist. Each time one of these employees did so, their photo was taken and displayed in the Toronto store. About 2000 photographs of these men survive and are preserved in an online gallery created by the Archives of Ontario. Last year, a call was put out to the public to visit the collection and share personal stories of these soldiers and their families. The response was overwhelming and the museum could not display all of them, however the Archives of Ontario are working to publicize them through their stories online.

Eaton's Goes to War, Mackenzie House Museum. Source.

Today from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm the Spadina House Museum is hosting a pop-up museum-style event, inviting the public to bring mementos and stories about conflict to share them with others. This type of event is an invitation to the public to become a part of the museum. All are welcome, even if they do not have a keepsake or story. Following the event, there will be a special tour of the Spadina House’s involvement in World War I, particularly Percy Austin's experiences as a solider and Margaret Constance Austin's experiences as a nurse.

Coming back to the GTA September 15 to December 15, 2020 the Museums of Mississauga will be host to the traveling exhibition called WAR Flowers. This exhibition made its way to Toronto  January 24 to March 16, 2018 at the Campbell House and was written about by Serena Yplaar & Amy Intrator as a Weekend Edition called INTERPRETATION IN BLOOM: WAR FLOWERS AT CAMPBELL HOUSE MUSEUM. The exhibition is a collection of letters and pressed flowers from Lieutenant-Colonel George Stephen Cantlie sent to his infant daughter Celia during World War I. Cantlie would pick a flower, no matter where he was on the front, whether it was a dandelion, rose, or a poppy, and press the flower to send to his daughter. The letters that accompanied them were often short with a small description of where the flower was from and he would sign it to his “Wee Celia”. The collection was passed to the Stewart Museum by Celia’s niece and has become the center of a multi-sensory experiences, telling this story along with that of ten other Canadians who were involved in the War. These stories show the ability to find beauty and hope, even in the darkest of times.

One of the original flowers featured in the WAR Flowers exhibit. Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

These three exhibitions are just the tip of the iceberg for what is going on today. For other ceremonies and events you can visit the Cit of Toronto, Ontario.ca, or google events near you.

I will leave you with some well known words;

In Flanders fields the poppies blow 

Between the crosses, row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky 

The larks, still bravely singing, fly 

Scarce heard amid the guns below. 

We are the Dead. Short days ago 

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 

Loved and were loved, and now we lie, 

In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high. 

If ye break faith with us who die 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields. 

                                                       -In Flanders Fields, John McCrae 

MAKING MUSINGS PART 4: WORTH THE RISK

Letter from the Editor | Serena Ypelaar

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This is the fourth post of a five part series in celebration of the Master of Museum Studies program at the University of Toronto's 50th anniversary (MMSt50). To reflect on Musings' past, present, and future, we invited all previous Editors-in-Chief to return to Musings to write special Letter from the Editor posts. These articles will highlight the significance of Musings both within the MMSt program, and for writers' professional careers. Serena Ypelaar was the fourth Editor-in-Chief of Musings from 2017-2018. 

When I first considered running for Musings Editor-in-Chief, you could say I was wary of risk. For one thing, I had never spearheaded a major publication, let alone one representing a graduate program at the University of Toronto. I’d been on the editorial team for CLIO, uOttawa’s undergraduate history journal, but nothing matched the scale of the journey on which I was about to embark.

Was I nervous to put myself out there in a leadership role? You bet. Did I do it anyway? Yes, and I sure am glad I did.

Why had I considered the Editor-in-Chief role a risk? Namely because it involved leaving my comfort zone in a big way. It was a huge responsibility but also the most beautiful challenge. Stepping outside the comfortable and trying to take Musings new places – this was how I spent much of my second year (2017/2018) in the MMSt program, resulting in irreplaceable experiences, friendships, and memories.

Contributing Editor Julia Zungri [Left] and 2017/2018 Editor-in-Chief Serena Ypelaar [Right]. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar/Musings.

I felt drawn to the role thanks to my deep love of writing and a strong sense of excitement. Some of my priorities as Editor-in-Chief were to broaden Musings’ community presence and connect more with audiences; increase inclusivity and further question the “status quo” of museums; and create a unified editorial structure that allowed for multiple rounds of edits and collaboration between team members. I was blessed with a talented and wonderful colleague in the role of Musings Administrator, Amy Intrator (one of Musings’ current Editors-in-Chief alongside She’s My Muse superstar Kathleen Lew), and we got a lot done!

Armed with a new social media strategy and revamped Instagram presence, we were able to connect with more institutions across digital networks. One of the most enjoyable promotional campaigns I ran involved sending personalized messages to museums across Canada to introduce their staff to Musings, encourage them to read and engage with our content, and propose possible collaborations. The goal was to expand our network; we received encouraging responses from professionals who were interested, as well as MMSt alumni who were happy for the chance to reconnect. This outreach project was experimental at best, but putting myself and the blog out there was beyond rewarding when I realized how many relationships we could create and nurture.

Risk reared its head yet again in February 2018, when I moderated MUSSA’s first major panel at the iSchool, Women in Leadership: Challenges, Successes, and the Future. It was terrifying, and I was extremely nervous to host a discussion with four accomplished museum leaders in front of a crowd, but I’m so happy I put my trepidation aside. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had the valuable opportunity to learn from inspiring women leading museums and expand Musings’ visibility further beyond the walls of the Bissell Building.

View this post on Instagram

Musings is happy to provide coverage for the @mussa.ischool Women in Leadership Panel, which took place yesterday! Check out our #WeekendEdition recap of the event! (Link in bio) 👭 (photo: Charlotte Gagnier)

A post shared by Musings - MMSt Student Blog (@musingsmmst) on Feb 10, 2018 at 6:01pm PST

Musings returned to the iSchool Conference in March, this time to discuss digital relevance. In a panel comprising Contributing Editors Emily Welsh, Sadie MacDonald, Kathleen Lew, Amy Intrator, and myself, we spoke about current events, commemoration, social media presence, and difficult legacies. We wanted to face up to some of the toughest topics to anchor Musings in timely and necessary museological dialogues, and we published a paper in the iJournal to that end.

Our panel at the iSchool Conference! Photo courtesy of Nicholas Ypelaar.

Blogging was second nature by the time my term ended, so I decided to ride the wave and start a new blog of my own, The Mindful Rambler. The team and I (including MMSt/Musings alumni) discuss interpretation/storytelling with a focus on history, literature, art, and biography. My time at Musings is the reason the blog exists at all; I still love writing articles that (hopefully) provoke thought, and I’m always trying to learn new things.

Musings has given me so much insight into cultural institutions, writing, and partnerships. Working at the Inuit Art Foundation, I’ve used that knowledge to collaborate with galleries and host Edit-a-Thons for the Inuit Art Quarterly Profiles, an online resource featuring Inuit artists from across Canada. Focusing on community events and digital education, I’m often reminded that collaboration is integral to success: Musings itself is built on collaboration. If you’ve been involved in any way, thank you.

Part of the Musings 2017/2018 team. Back [from left]: Emily Welsh, Julia Zungri, Kristen McLaughlin, Katlyn Wooder, Kathleen Lew, Amy Intrator. Front [from left]: Jennifer Lee, Leore Zecharia, Sadie MacDonald, Serena Ypelaar.
Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar/Musings.

Leading Musings was unlike anything I’ve ever done. It was also a fulfilling creative opportunity. Change is scary. Risk is scary. But only by taking calculated risks can we reap the rewards, a lesson I plan to take with me throughout my career.

As a team effort, Musings is a testament to collaboration in the Master of Museum Studies program, now 50 years old. I absolutely loved working with my colleagues, the Contributing Editors who make Musings great. Congratulations Jaime, Madeline, Natania, Kathleen, and Amy! The Editor-in-Chief legacy is truly unique, and I feel incredibly honoured to be counted among the ranks with you all.

Happy 5th birthday, Musings! Here’s to many more.

THE NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE: TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Well, this is it ... this week our #MMSt2018 cohort finished our coursework for the Master of Museum Studies! I'm so proud of my colleagues for all the amazing things we've accomplished together these last two years!

Of course, graduating from the iSchool means leaving the position of Editor-in-Chief. It's been a whirlwind year of growth, learning, and community, and I'm having a hard time writing this post as I know it will be my last for Musings.

I really, really don't! Source.

Having had the privilege of being your Editor-in-Chief this past year, I want to express how grateful I am for this invigorating role. Every week brought a new challenge, but I can readily say that each one taught me so much about leadership, the museum world, and the importance of working together to make good things happen.

Some of the lovely Musings team members at the Holiday Party!
From left (r): Emily Welsh, Julia Zungri, Kristen McLaughlin, Katlyn Wooder, Kathleen Lew, Amy Intrator;
(f): Jennifer Lee, Leore Zecharia, Sadie MacDonald, and yours truly. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

When I stepped into the Editor-in-Chief position last April, I sought to enrich our digital presence through social media and facilitate more inclusive conversations by tackling challenging and underrepresented topics. We looked at how we commemorate individuals and events, especially difficult legacies. We looked at environmental sustainability and the future of museums. How can - and more importantly, how should - we do things differently?

We have the power to change the direction of museums and public dialogue through our work. Source.

There are so many directions we can take museums, as long as we don't overlook the possibilities. This week I've been listening to Hamilton band Arkells' new political anthem, "People's Champ", and I realized the lyrics sum up some of the themes we've tried to confront this year on the blog: You've got no vision for the long run / You've got no sense of history / You've got the world at your fingertips ... I'm looking for the people's champ! 

It hit me: museums can be the "people's champ".

We've learned that museums aren't neutral spaces. If we look back at what they've done in the past, what they're doing now, and what we can do going forward (which we've examined in our program and on this blog), we can actively initiate a more inclusive future in which museums truly serve their diverse and rich communities.

Talking about digital relevance with the Musings Panel at the 2018 iSchool Conference! Photos courtesy of Kathleen Vahey & Nicholas Ypelaar.

With their ideas, conviction, and professionalism, Musings' Contributing Editors have consistently impressed me from day one. I'm so grateful to have worked with such fantastic writers. Thank you all for the excellent content you've produced and for the discussions you've generated. It was a dream come true working with you and I can't wait to see what you do next!

A special thank you to Musings Administrator Amy Intrator for your positive attitude, enthusiasm and dedication. You're amazing and I couldn't have done any of this without you! Amy will join fellow writer Kathleen Lew to lead the blog as Co-Editors. Congratulations to you both! You are assets to the team and I know Musings is in good hands.

The wonderful Contributing Editors found me the perfect card...
Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar.

To our Museum Studies professors in the Faculty of Information - thank you for all your positive encouragement and support. We've learned so much from you, and your wisdom has helped us make the blog a thoughtful and engaging professional platform for museum-related discussion.

Best of luck to all my colleagues who are graduating this year, as well as those about to embark on their summer internships! I've loved being a part of the MMSt community and I know everyone will do great things.

Finally, to you, the readers - thank you for reading and for joining the conversation! The Musings community thrives thanks to you. Even though I'm leaving now, I can't wait to visit the blog in the future and see what Musings talks about next.

I had to, okay? Source.

PRINCE ALBERT & HENRY COLE: WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT THE GREAT EXHIBITION?

WALK OF FAME

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Hi, Musings readers! This is my penultimate post for the blog (!!!). Reflecting on my MMSt journey and all that I've learned about what museums were, what they are, and where they are going, I wanted to take this final Walk of Fame back to one of the earlier iterations of museums: The Great Exhibition.

The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations was an international exhibition organized by Prince Albert, prince consort of Queen Victoria, and Henry Cole. Their intention was to showcase British imperial prosperity and the might of the Industrial Revolution by exhibiting manufactured goods. Exhibitions comprised the display of raw materials and their manufactured counterparts, which of course included resources and products from overseas. The Great Exhibition was housed in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, built specifically for the event. It took place between May 1st and October 15th, 1851.

Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, from Dickinson's Comprehensive Images of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Source.

At this point you may be wondering, "why are you using your final post to talk about two Victorian white men who created the Great Exhibition?"

In short, I'd like to use the Great Exhibition to explore the colonial origins of museums. How can we respond to these early conventions to operate modern museums that serve their diverse and multicultural communities, especially in a place like Canada? The two individuals below represent members of a hierarchical society that don't necessarily make up the visitor population today, but their work can inform what we do.


Henry Cole

Henry Cole.
Source.

An inventor and British civil servant, Henry Cole (1808-1882) sought support for the exhibitions through his involvement with the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (RSA). He was dedicated to improving the standards of industrial design, and ultimately secured Prince Albert's patronage for exhibitions on art manufactures between 1847 and 1849.

After visiting the 11th Quinquennial Paris Exhibition in 1849, Cole aspired to expand the RSA's planned exhibitions for 1850 and 1851 to international participants, so in 1850 he obtained Queen Victoria's backing to establish the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

Cole's dedication to artistic and scientific pursuits led to his creation of what's considered the first commercial Christmas card, in 1843. He was adamant that the Great Exhibition's profits be allocated to the purchase of land for the South Kensington Museum, of which Cole was the first director. Established in 1852, the museum is now the Victoria & Albert Museum, and has a Henry Cole wing.


Prince Albert 

Prince Albert, c. 1848. Source.

Prince Albert (1819-1861)'s role in the Great Exhibition reflects his class in relation to Cole; while Cole and the RSA were the mobilizing force behind the Exhibition, the Prince Consort was enthusiastic in his support of it.

Prince Albert was lauded as the mastermind of the Exhibition, and his vision resulted in the profit of the showcase, bringing in £186,000. It was by Prince Albert's decree that the funds be used to “increase the means of industrial education and extend the influence of science and art upon productive industry”, ultimately contributing to the creation of what is now known as the V&A.

Beyond the Royal Family, who visited the Exhibition three times, prominent Britons at the time also made appearances, such as Charles Darwin, Charlotte Brontë, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Though other individuals such as Karl Marx disapproved of the Exhibition for sensationalizing capitalism, six million people visited in total.


What does remembering the Great Exhibition mean for us today?

Countries from the world could exhibit their industrial accomplishments, but the Great Exhibition was primarily intended to prove British superiority. As a colonial engine, therefore, the Exhibition is an example of how museums and their exhibitions can perpetuate a hegemonic agenda.

Nevertheless, we don't have to resign ourselves to this prospect. Rather, we know that through conscious and responsible interpretation we can subvert and overturn these notions of superiority - whether by class, race, gender, sexual orientation, or culture - and aspire to capture empathetic responses to the human experience.

Rather than exhibiting differences in a way that creates hierarchies, we can celebrate those differences and learn from them with a positive vision. That's my hope for the general direction of museums today, and in the future - but as museum professionals we're responsible to go beyond hope and create change through action.

Thank you all for coming on this Walk of Fame with me all term. Going forward, I hope we don't simply dismiss the past as something irrelevant to us, but instead examine it in a way that serves our commitment to progress today.

OPEN DOOR POLICY: CONSERVATION LABS ON VIEW

CONSERVATION TIPS & TRICKS

BY: SERENA YPELAAR & AMY INTRATOR

Some of the most popular features of many museums are their open conservation labs, in which visitors can see conservators at work (often through glass). It's another nod to visitors' love of behind-the-scenes opportunities, and seeing the process allows a transparency we don't always get in museums. We've compiled a list of some institutions where you can see conservation labs up close!

Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta

During the summer, the Royal Tyrrell Museum processes fossils discovered by the archaeological team in the field. Their work is done in the Preparation Lab (formerly the Fossil Lab), which is accessible to visitors in the form of a large glass window. Visitors can watch conservators and archaeologists at work with new fossil discoveries of various sizes and types. Many of the specimens were discovered in the local area in Alberta, such as Dinosaur Provincial Park, which is where the field station is located. Some specimens take up to five years to prepare completely, so the Preparation Lab often has conservators working on long-term projects.

The Fossil Lab in 2007. Source.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA)

Photo courtesy of Amy Intrator.

At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) the Conservation in Action display allows visitors to see conservators working on artifacts up close and personal. The Conservation in Action Gallery is a space dedicated to displaying the conservation processes undertaken in the gallery, but conservation displays have also been set up in the Asian Painting Gallery and other parts of the Museum.

The conservation displays change with new acquisitions and projects, and the developing display fits into the museum’s larger initiative to merge front-of-house programming with behind-the-scenes access. In addition to the Conservation in Action display, the MFA has displays dedicated to the choices, decisions, and efforts made by Museum staff. From a display about “Making Choices” between displaying different artifacts, to an explanation of classifying processes, the Museum is extremely transparent about processes that are usually kept behind closed doors.

Boston MFA's Making Choices Display. Photo
courtesy of Amy Intrator.

Penn Museum, Philadelphia

The Penn Museum in Philadelphia has displayed their conservation process since 2012, with the opening of In the Artifact Lab: Conserving Egyptian Mummies. In 2017, the lab reopened as The Artifact Lab: Conservation in Action, which now focuses on a variety of artifact conservation. The lab is described as “part exhibition, part working laboratory” and visitors have the opportunity to look into the glass as conservators work on artifacts, but they can also explore objects in the gallery and learn about the conservation process each artifact underwent. The combination of exploration and observation allows visitors to engage in a dialogue about conservation, rather than passively watch conservators at work. The Museum also makes an effort to keep visitors informed and engaged through a blog with information about the Museum’s current and past conservation initiatives. The combination of resources helps the visitor learn about the scientific, artistic, and practical knowledge necessary to properly conserve the museum’s artifacts.


National Trust, Knole House, UK

The Knole Conservation Studio is the first National Trust offering of its kind. Free to all visitors, it is located in Knole House in West Kent and offers an interactive look at the conservation process. Housed in a 15th century barn, the first floor holds a display of historic items laid out and waiting to be conserved. The building's windows have been blocked for preservation against light damage, but a timed lighting system allows visitors to view the conservation area for limited periods. The second floor holds the conservation studio itself, where visitors can watch conservators at work and engage with interactive displays such as drawers. Tours of the space are also available, and conservators and volunteers can answer questions in the space itself. The studio even has UV light box that can illuminate areas of an object that have been restored. It also has an iPad with a decision-making game allowing visitors to "play the conservator".

Knole House, West Kent, UK. Source.

Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, Washington

The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture has a “working Collections Lab” with a variety of displays and programs that bring visitors behind-the-scenes and into the collections process. While many galleries feature conservation labs that visitors can peek into, this museum features several different programs that allow for a more open dialogue between visitors and museum staff. From an “Artifact Boot Camp” featuring chats with museum staff and volunteers as they work, to a display about the science of decay, there are multiple opportunities for visitors to engage in the collections process. The full and changing display connects the Museum’s dedication to collections stewardship with their commitment to lifelong learning by opening a dialogue between visitors and the museum collection.

The openness of these conservation labs provides an additional level of learning and offers a special glimpse into the work museum professionals - namely conservators and collections managers - do. The transparency of these labs brings an awareness of the importance of preserving these artifacts for the future - have you been to any museums with open conservation labs?

MMSt 2018: EXHIBITION PROJECTS PART III

RESEARCH COLUMN

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Hello again, and to those who celebrate, Happy Easter weekend! We are back with our final installment of #MMSt2018 project coverage, in which our students tell you all about their theses and exhibitions!

In this edition, we will explore the last batch of exhibitions and projects launching across the city. You know what to do - read about the stories in the group members' own words below!


Mixed Messages: Making and Shaping Culinary Culture in Canada (May 21-August 31, 2018) 
Sadie MacDonald, Cassandra Curtis 

Image used with permission of Rogers Media Inc.,
All rights reserved. 

Location: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, 120 St. George Street, University of Toronto

We are curatorial assistants for Mixed Messages, which will display rare cookbooks and culinary objects from the 1820s to the 1960s. Through a combination of traditional object displays, digital media, and public programming, this exhibition will explore the stories of those who participated in - or were excluded from - making and shaping culinary culture in Canada.

ROAM Audio Tours (Project; May 2018) 

Breanna Stephenson 

Location: Toronto

My concept, ROAM Audio Tours, is a start-up e-business aimed at creating unique and accessible museum audio tours. The company will be privately launching its first exclusive tour Crafting Culture: Tools of Humankind through the Age at a Toronto institution this spring. With embedded directional cues and insightful audio, ROAM will invite you to explore museums from a different perspective, fostering new connections between you and collections.

As the founder, I am responsible for several tasks to develop ROAM into a publishable product, such as in this photo where I am pictured revising the tour script before it's recorded. Photo courtesy of Breanna Stephenson. 

Partners: ROAM Audio Tours could not exist without the collaboration of my resource partners. I would like to thank my contacts at MH Studios Toronto, BigServe Graphx, and my web developer Connor McKinnon for all of their amazing support so far.

Snapshots of Change: The Influence of the CNE on Toronto (June 21-September 29, 2018) 

Bretton Weir, Marlee Yule

Kids look at Ferris Wheel, 1962. Photo courtesy of CNE
Archives, Alexandra Studio Fonds, MG5-F770-I3.

Location: Withrow Common, 200 Princes’ Blvd (Canadian National Exhibition), Toronto
Exhibition Hours: Thursdays 1 pm – 5 pm (exhibit will be closed during the CNE – see withrowcommon.ca for details)
Opening Reception: TBD

Our exhibition is a retrospective look at the massive photo collection of the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). As a historical landmark in our city, we were inspired by the changes to Toronto we have seen reflected in the past 139 years of the CNE. Join us in discovering the past, present, and future influence of Toronto’s hidden neighbourhood!

A Tradition of Giving: Sir Henry Pellatt and The St. George's Society of Toronto (July-August 2018) 

Samantha Eadie, Jennifer Lee, Kathleen Vahey, Serena Ypelaar 

(From left) Serena, Kathleen, Jenny, and Samantha, fundraising
for the exhibition by speaking at the St. George's Society
Christmas Dinner. Photo courtesy of Serena Ypelaar. 

Location: Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto
Opening Reception: TBD

Our exhibition explores the history of Toronto’s oldest charitable organization, the St. George’s Society of Toronto, and the legacy of notable life member and President, Sir Henry Pellatt. Using archival material, photographs, and historical objects connected to the Society, we will illustrate both its evolution since its inception in 1834 and its lasting legacy in the city.

Partners: The St. George's Society of Toronto; Casa Loma

Mazel Tov! A Celebration of Jewish Weddings and Marriage in Ontario (July 5-August 6, 2018) 

Katie Paolozza, Leore Zecharia 

Leore in the archives at the OJA.
Photo courtesy of Katie Paolozza.

Location: The Gallery at the J, located in the Jacobs Lounge on the main floor of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, sponsored by the Ontario Jewish Archives
Opening Reception: TBD

Our project combines the joyful chaos of weddings with the social history of Jewish families in Ontario. We've used the traditional steps of Jewish weddings to thematically frame our narrative, inviting our audience to join us on a multi-generational journey through time. Our exhibit uses photographs and engaging ephemera ranging from old advertisements to legal documents to tell the story of how weddings symbolize the hopes and dreams we have for our families.

Doris McCarthy Symposium (Project; November 2018) 

Alexis Moline 

Location: Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto

For my project, I'm working with the Doris McCarthy Gallery to host a symposium offering fresh perspectives on the life and work of Doris McCarthy. I am responsible for research, communication, advertising and organizing the event and will continue to work on this project throughout the year. This symposium will open in conjunction with an exhibition of McCarthy's work in the fall of 2018.

Doris McCarthy, Iceberg with Icicles, 2000. Oil on canvas, 152.4 cm x 213.4 cm. Gift of the artist. Collection of the Doris McCarthy Gallery. 

Looking Back, Going Forward (Project; Date TBD)

Madeleine Long 

My project involves going through a personal archive that belonged to Harlan I. Smith, who was, among other things, an archaeologist and photographer. I'm working on organizing information from the collection so that it can eventually go somewhere where researchers can have easier access.  

______

And with that, we're done featuring all of the #MMSt2018 projects. Thank you to every student who spoke about their work, and thanks to you, the readers, for your support. I hope you found this series as insightful and fascinating as I did, and I hope to see you at the opening receptions!

MMSt 2018: EXHIBITION PROJECTS PART II

RESEARCH COLUMN

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

Happy Sunday, readers! It's your friendly neighbourhood Editor-in-Chief again, with another installment of #MMSt2018 exhibition projects for your curious minds. Last weekend you got to hear about the ones that are opening first; this post will follow the same chronological structure and pick up where we left off.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy hearing more about our students' projects!


Temple of Fame: Staging Women's Roles (April 25-June 10, 2018)
Maeghan Jerry, Kara Isozaki, Sarah Kelly

Location: Aurora Museum & Archives, 22 Church Street, Aurora
Opening Reception: April 25th, 2018 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

A century ago, the women of Aurora produced the Temple of Fame: A Pageant of Famous Women. The play featured historical and fictional female figures vying to be crowned by the Goddess of Fame. Our exhibition explores how the play illuminates the changing roles of women in 1918. Our project is a portion of larger centennial programming, which celebrates local women through a series of community events, including a remount of the play.

1918 production of Temple of Fame. Photo courtesy of the Aurora Museum & Archives.

Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship (April 30, 2018 –) 

Susan Jama

Working at Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections! Photo courtesy
of Susan Jama. 

Location: Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collection, York University Libraries, Toronto

My digital exhibition, Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship, explores the history of language used to describe African art from colonial to post-colonial era. Redefining Language in African Art Scholarship reveals the transformative shift in African art literature written from the 1900s to 1980s.

Messages from the Mosaic (May 1, 2018 –)
Ellen (Mairead) Murphy, Zhuohua (Nicole) Yang

Location: Canadian Language Museum; messagesfromthemosaic.ca (digital exhibition)

Promotional image for the exhibition. Photo courtesy of

Ellen (Mairead) Murphy.

Our exhibition project is Messages from the Mosaic, a digital exhibition about the languages of Canada. Using text, infographics, and clickable elements, we want to curate a web exhibition that explores the history, trends, and challenges surrounding Canada’s transforming language mosaic. This is a bilingual exhibition (English and French) and will be launched in May 2018.

A Telepathic Book (May 5-15, 2018)

The Broadbent Sisters' Telepathic Book. Photo courtesy of
Broadbent Sisters and Robynne Redgrave, 2017. 

Aurora Cacioppo, Meagan Fillmore 

Location: Black Cat Art Space, 2186 Dundas St W, Toronto
Opening Reception: May 3, 2018, 6 pm (remarks at 7 pm) at Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1356 Dundas St W, Toronto

We are working with the Broadbent Sisters to translate the components of their sculptural photobook into an exhibition for CONTACT Photography Festival. For fourteen days, the artists used meditation to telepathically send and receive images to one another. Afterward, they revealed their photos to one another and found unbelievable connections! Using each day’s images, the artists produced A Telepathic Book, which displays these parallels while promoting meditative practice through its design.

Partners: The Broadbent Sisters

The History of the John Street Roundhouse: 1929 - Present (May 2, 2018 –)
Hannah Monkman, Abebe Mengesha, Alice Norton-Bell

Location: The Toronto Railway Museum, 255 Bremner Boulevard, Stall 17, Toronto
Opening Reception: TBD

Our project is to create a new entryway exhibit in the Toronto Railway Museum, which will set the tone for an upcoming museum-wide redesign. We’re exploring the rich history of Toronto’s rail lands from 1929 to the present day, looking specifically at the John Street Roundhouse where the exhibition will be located. Come learn the story of an area once dedicated to the railway, that’s now a bustling neighbourhood filled with iconic Toronto attractions!

The John Street Roundhouse in 1930. Photo courtesy of
Toronto Public Library Archives.

Anna taping up the exhibition space for Inner Spaces!
Photo courtesy of Kasey Ball. 

Inner Spaces (May 1-31, 2018)Cassy Kist, Anna Kawecka, Kasey Ball

Location: Ontario Science Centre, 770 Don Mills Rd., Toronto
Opening Reception: May 5th, time TBD

Our exhibit provides a brief glimpse under the microscope of research being done across Canada. Displaying images of cellular pathology captured in the lab, we hope to bring awareness to this amazing scientific work.

Collecting Moments: The Photographs of Dr. John E. Ackerman (May 17-June 13, 2018)

Charlotte Gagnier, Sarah Proulx

John E. Ackerman, Men outside Ackerman's Grocery Store ca.
1940s. Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage
Centre, accession 2013-7-13. 

Location: Black Cat Artspace, 2186 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Exhibition Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 12-7 pm
Opening Reception: May 17, 8-10 pm

Our exhibition consists of photographs reproduced from archival negatives taken by an accomplished amateur photographer, Dr. John E. Ackerman. We are very excited for the opportunity to work with such a rich collection, held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. The best part of fulfilling our role as curators has been looking through this beautiful collection of moments that portray the personal life of Dr. Ackerman as well as life in Toronto in the mid-20th century.

Lost and Found: Rediscovering Fragments of Old Toronto (May 2018-May 2019)

Hannah Hadfield, Tanya McCullough, Leora Bebko

Promotional image for Lost and Found. Photo courtesy of
Leora Bebko, 2018.

Location: Campbell House Museum, 160 Queen St. W., Toronto  

Opening Reception: May 17, 2018 – Panel Discussion from 6-7 pm, Reception from 7-9 pm

Our exhibition will feature six groupings of handcrafted carved stones salvaged by Rosa and Spencer Clark from iconic Toronto buildings in the postwar era. Positioned throughout the Campbell House Museum gardens and juxtaposed against the modern city landscape, we hope that our exhibition will inspire visitors to contemplate the city’s relationship to its heritage and imagine what the city will look like in another 50 years.

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Kudos to all these amazing groups and their fascinating exhibition projects - I'm looking forward to visiting them all. Be sure to check the exhibitions out in person at the openings or beyond! 

MELTING DOWN THE MYSTERY: THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION IN 2018

MUSEUM MYSTERIES

BY: SERENA YPELAAR

For my final Museum Mysteries post, I couldn't resist taking an age-old Victorian mystery out of the freezer for a thaw: the famous Franklin Expedition to the Arctic.

The last time Musings tackled this frigid phantom of a story was with Sadie MacDonald's review of the pop-up exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Now, the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) has opened their exhibition, Death in the Ice: The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition, after its run at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, UK.

Death in the Ice is a joint effort between the Canadian Museum of History, Inuit Heritage Trust and the UK National Maritime Museum, as well as Parks Canada and the Government of Nunavut.

Promotional image for Death in the Ice: The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition. Photo: Canadian Museum of History.

Having worked at the Museum of Inuit Art and Inuit Art Foundation respectively, northern Canadian history is one of my key focuses. When I interned at the Northern Life Museum and Cultural Centre in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, I delivered educational programming to high school students alongside the Canada Science and Technology Museum's travelling exhibition Echoes in the Ice: Finding Franklin's Ship. I doubt I'll ever stop being interested in the lost expedition and its mysterious legacy.

Note found in a cairn in 1859 on King
William Island, written by Franklin's
crew and even updated to report
Franklin's death and the desertion of
the ships. Source.

Sir John Franklin was selected in 1845 (though far from the top choice) at age 59 to lead a British Royal Navy expedition in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. In what is now the Canadian Arctic, Franklin and his crew met Inuit who later provided oral testimony of their encounters with the British men. 

With 129 men on board, the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror got locked in the ice and were rendered immobile. Franklin was dead by 1847, and the surviving men were forced to desert the ships and travel south on foot. In the harsh Arctic conditions, none would survive. Rumours swirled that some men, in sheer desperation, had resorted to cannibalism, a sensational element of this story that both repulses and fascinates. (Charles Dickens published articles weighing in on the cannibalism debate, despite Victorians' indignation at the thought.) 

On the MMSt Ottawa trip last year, CMH staff spoke to us about their efforts to represent previously overlooked Inuit perspectives in Death in the Ice. The exhibition is said to focus heavily on Inuit voices and experiences - though that's not to say that it hasn't had its fair share of controversy regarding objects taken from the shipwrecks of the Erebus and Terror after their respective discoveries by Parks Canada in 2014 and 2016.

The reason for this is simple: Inuit were the last to see the ships and their crews. And those encounters, preserved in oral histories and shared with Parks Canada and its partners, contributed directly to the discovery of HMS Erebus and Terror. - Canadian Museum of History, "Inuit Knowledge and the Franklin Expedition Exhibition"

Peter Taptuna (Nunavut's Premier at the time) claimed in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in fall 2016 that Parks Canada wrongfully removed artifacts belonging to Nunavut and Inuit Heritage Trust since the wrecks are in their territory. Parks Canada alleges that the wrecks are still British property, citing a 1997 agreement in which the British consented to transfer the contents of the wrecks to Canada once found. 

Memorial to Sir John Franklin and the lost expedition outside the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, UK. Source.

I haven't managed to pop back to Ottawa to visit the Death in the Ice exhibition (as well as my alma mater) yet, but I suppose that just adds to this column's air of mystery. I've instead outlined a few questions I would like to see answered or at least discussed in the exhibition: 

• How can we give oral traditions more weight as a way of knowing in exhibitions like these, where Indigenous narratives are integral? 
• What does our obsession with the men's purported cannibalism tell us about sensationalism as it relates to museum audiences? 
• Some of the men's bodies were preserved in the ice and found intact over a century later - but will we ever find Sir John Franklin's body? Would it teach us anything new?
• When will the ownership dispute be resolved between Inuit and Parks Canada? Is there a way to interpret history in museums without displaying artifacts with questionable provenance?

Most of my questions are more museological than factual. I accept that some mysteries will forever remain unsolved, but that doesn't mean we can't explore and learn from them in the absence of concrete answers. Instead, these unknowns can be an excellent prompt toward critical thinking and dialogue.

Plus, we have great historical interpretation on television to satiate our curiosity. I can't wait to see how the Franklin Expedition is adapted in AMC's newest drama, The Terror, which premieres this Monday. Time will tell whether Inuit are satisfactorily represented in the series, but I'm eager to start taking it in. (And before you ask, I haven't been paid off by AMC - it's not my fault they make so many historical dramas!)

The Terror actors Ciarán Hinds (as Sir John Franklin), Jared Harris, and Tobias Menzies discuss their characters - both historically and as interpreted in the series.

So how can we keep dwelling on the same mysteries time and again without stifling them? By offering different vantage points. It's an issue I've been focusing a lot on in my Musings articles this year: tell the story that hasn't been told, and people will listen. Promise visitors more, and they will want to keep learning. Answer questions, but focus just as much on what we don't know. 

With that, my readers, I'll close the door on Museum Mysteries for now. I hope you've enjoyed embracing the unknown and that you'll continue to do so!