We are very excited to announce that the BC Museums Association has awarded us $78,000 of Canada 150 funding to build our new permanent exhibit with the working title "Deep Roots".
We are very excited to get started on implementing this project plan, which has been a priority of ours for quite some time. Exhibits can be expensive in terms of time and materials - lighting, signage, display cases, research, and all the protections needed to keep dust, UV radiation, and other things can really add up - but now we have the resources to do this right thanks to this funding opportunity.
We expect to start the research portion of the project right away - we need to look to our own community and collections and figure out exactly what we want this exhibit to be - what is the story of Oliver (and area)? What artifacts do we have that can help us tell that story? What else needs to be said or shown? What do people want to know about our community? What voices will tell our story? These are the questions we will be asking and answering over the next few months. We will be approaching key organizations and cultural entities and asking for their perspectives and assistance as well.
Approximate Project Timeline: What you can expect
Over this summer, you won't see many changes in our current exhibit areas - but that doesn't mean we're not working on this project! We'll be spending the summer months gearing up to get the behind-the-scenes exhibit work started - mostly ordering supplies and equipment, and completing research. Last year we completed the exhibit inside the Fairview Jail; if you didn't catch it, you should come by and see it some time! It's all about the fascinating community of Fairview. The Fairview Jail display won't be changing with our new exhibit plan - it's here to stay!
By mid-to-late fall, we'll begin disassembling our current exhibit displays inside the Museum. Some of these artifacts have been displayed for a long time and will need some preservation care before going back into collection storage. We'll have to close the Museum down for this stage, as we disassemble displays, upgrade our lighting, reconfigure the space, and build new display cases & exhibit features. We'll be making announcements about when and how long this stage will last as soon as we know. I'm sure we'll be posting many pictures to Facebook - an opportunity like this doesn't come along very often and we'll be documenting the whole process.
Celebrate with us!
Next spring (2018), keep an eye out for announcements about the exhibit opening for "Deep Roots". We'll be inviting the community to come and celebrate this new and exciting display with us, so stay tuned!