What new museums would you like to see in Canada?

[blueandgoldguy]

What national/provincial museums would you like to see in Canada/specific province that currently do not exist?

Personally, I think we are long overdue for a national museum celebrating Indigenous history and culture. It's shocking that one doesn't exist at this point.

The U.S. has two national museums celebrating the history of the American Indian - the one in Washington is over 450,000 square feet! There is no reason we cannot build something approx. half the size of this building. Including restaurants, workshops, temporary exhibit hall, classrooms.

Another museum that is long overdue would be a Canadian Rock and Roll (or just Music) Hall of Fame celebrating the rich and diverse music and artists this country has produced.

Thoughts on this and other possibilities?

[Kilgore Trout]

More museums of the built environment. Montreal has the Canadian Centre for Architecture, which is fantastic, but as far as I know it's the only one of its kind in Canada.

A foodways museum similar to the Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn.

We also need more weird museums like the Musée de la Chasse et Nature in Paris, which is ostensibly a museum about hunting, but is more like a quirky contemporary art museum.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by blueandgoldguy

Another museum that is long overdue would be a Canadian Rock and Roll (or just Music) Hall of Fame celebrating the rich and diverse music and artists this country has produced.

That already exists in Calgary:



Studio Bell AKA The National Music Centre.

The NMC Collection consists primarily of cultural (human-made) objects and intellectual property related to music in Canada and is held in trust for the public. The collection is intended to serve as a foundation for:

The research, documentation, and preservation of music in Canada
The development of public education programs, public performances, and new music
The creation of partnerships across the Canadian musical spectrum
Our goal is to build a definitive collection of musical instruments and memorabilia across four key streams:

The five distinct regions of our country: Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the West, and the North
Canada’s diverse cultures
Recognized Canadian icons—both people and objects
The evolution of music technology over time

https://www.studiobell.ca/

[jigglysquishy]

I just want actual federal museums outside Ottawa. I believe the human rights one in Winnipeg is the only one.

[Echoes]

A national museum for Indigenous Peoples, and I'd contend that it should be on the Prairies.

[SignalHillHiker]

Not sure what I’d like to see nationally. The indigenous example is appropriate. I understand Canada was exceptionally prolific at mid century modern furniture so something for that would be cool.

Provincially we’re soon about to have one I’ve been wanting - our former Parliament is being restored by as a museum of our history as a country. It will even be equipped to house ceremonial sessions of our current House of Assembly.

Beyond that I would love to see a proper living history museum like Colonial Williamsburg in the U.S. The Random Passage site or Red Bay, Labrador, would be great for it.

We need something for each of all of our UNESCO World Heritage Sites, especially Mistaken Point as it’s very underserved currently.

Although this is well-covered by The Rooms, I would like something separate about the people of the province throughout history - Beothuk, Innu, Inuit, Irish, English, Lebanese, Chinese, and on to more modern groups such as Nigerians. You could tie in all sorts of contemporary art, African folk styles with NL scenes, linguistic links to Europe, on and on.

[Drybrain]

I second the idea of a museum on Indigenous history and culture--tens of thousands of years of history over this enormous landmass; that makes for soe pretty rich territory, I think.

Also, and this isn't an original sentiment, but a proper aquarium in Halifax, an east-coast counterpart to the Vancouver aquarium. It's a bit silly that the largest city in the region doesn't have such a thing, and while the local market is small, I'm sure the tourist traffic would help support such a thing.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by jigglysquishy

I just want actual federal museums outside Ottawa. I believe the human rights one in Winnipeg is the only one.

Pier 21 is another (I believe it was the first outside Ottawa), although they don't do a great job of advertising this except to cruise ship passengers.

[Hali87]

I think regional museums for Indigenous Culture and for Architecture would be good additions.

[CivicBlues]

All of you calling for an Indigenous Museum, isn't pretty much every single Provincial Museum one already? Royal BC Museum, Royal Alberta, Royal Saskatchewan etc. They're pretty much all 2-in-1 Natural History/Indigenous Culture museums with a sprinkling of settler history (which for some museums is being re-imaged as we speak).

We don't have any Museums dedicated to Asian Art (The US has at least 3) or one for the Asian-Canadian experience (save for the tiny one in Vancouver Chinatown). The US has at least 5 (some dedicated to Chinese, one Japanese). Pretty pitiful given the larger proportion of Canadians that are of Asian descent.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Echoes

A national museum for Indigenous Peoples, and I'd contend that it should be on the Prairies.

Why the Prairies? Arguable, the most striking visual elements of Indigenous art & culture have come out of the West Coast. Otherwise expanding the Canadian Museum of History, née Museum of Civilization which would seem the most appropriate.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

All of you calling for an Indigenous Museum, isn't pretty much every single Provincial Museum one already?

Now that the New Brunswick Museum is on shaky ground the FNs there have formally requested Indigenous artifacts be returned to their locals/FNs. I'd be in favour of seeing more provincial Indigenous museums.

Reminds me of that joke about the British Museum.

[kwoldtimer]

I’d like to see a Canadian Museum of Design, a Portrait Gallery of Canada, and a Gallery of Canadian War Art. I’d also like to see the Art Bank open a public gallery, at least to show recent acquisitions. It’s also past due for Toronto to open a Museum of Toronto.

I suppose Design could be incorporated into the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology, but “Canadian Museum of STD” gives me pause.

[Echoes]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Why the Prairies? Arguable, the most striking visual elements of Indigenous art & culture have come out of the West Coast. Otherwise expanding the Canadian Museum of History, née Museum of Civilization which would seem the most appropriate.

You make a good point about expanding the Museum of History. My suggestion is based partly on my agreement with the sentiment that more federal museums be established outside of the National Capital Region. The other part is that, while the mandate of such a museum should be multi-faceted, my hope is that it would have a particular focus on the struggles and triumphs of Indigenous Peoples in the face of colonialism of the past few centuries. The Prairies are setting to a significant number of events of colonial violence and dispossession (clearing the plains for agricultural settlement, decimation of the bison, Louis Riel and the Northwest Rebellion, negotiation of the Treaties, and prevalence of reserves and residential schools in the region) and the lingering effects of systemic racism and intergenerational trauma, including acute socioeconomic problems on and off reserve (including within our significant urban indigenous populations in our major centres) and the deeply-embedded racism that persists.

Having said all this, I recognize that there are also thousands of years of pre-contact indigenous history and a lot to showcase and celebrate in ways of living, customs, culture, art, etc. So perhaps what I am really after in my suggestion is a national centre of truth and reconciliation that tells that story specifically. This might make sense as an extension of the CMHR in Winnipeg in the same sense that you suggest the Museum of History for art and culture. I know that CMHR has a permanent exhibition on truth and reconciliation, but I think Canada needs something more significant in the way of a standalone institution to tell this story.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

All of you calling for an Indigenous Museum, isn't pretty much every single Provincial Museum one already? Royal BC Museum, Royal Alberta, Royal Saskatchewan etc. They're pretty much all 2-in-1 Natural History/Indigenous Culture museums with a sprinkling of settler history (which for some museums is being re-imaged as we speak).

There's no "(Royal) Nova Scotia Museum*" filling that role here. The NS Museum of Natural History is pretty much entirely focused on plants and animals, although I think they're giving it more of a Mi'kmaq-influenced aesthetic with the latest revamp. Still, it's fundamentally not a culture/human-focused museum. There are places like Grand Pré and Louisbourg that allude to Mi'kmaq culture although the spotlight in both of those cases is very clearly on the Acadians first and foremost. In Halifax the Mi'kmaq cultural centre is expanding into a much larger building that will probably include museum and archive type stuff but up until now it's mostly been a case of one-off exhibitions and very small local museums in reserves or small towns. In practice I think there's been much more Mi'kmaq "museum-type stuff" installed in parks than in actual museums, and in many ways this might come down to cultural preferences.

*The Nova Scotia Museum system is broken down by topic: Natural History, Maritime Museum, Fisheries, Industry, Mining; I forget whether AGNS is part of it or not. They're all separate buildings in different parts of the province.

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Why the Prairies? Arguable, the most striking visual elements of Indigenous art & culture have come out of the West Coast. Otherwise expanding the Canadian Museum of History, née Museum of Civilization which would seem the most appropriate.

Museum of Anthropology at UBC is mostly BC first nations IIRC.

[Luisito]

I would like to see a Museum dedicated to Scottish Canadians and all the contributions they have made to this country. They built much of its institutions and identity.

[MonctonRad]

A National First Nations Museum makes a lot of sense, but it should be located in Ottawa.

I think there is a lot of strength in creating a cluster of national museums in the NCR, just like the Smithsonian District along the National Mall in Washington DC. I lived for six weeks in Washington when I was a resident doing a course down there, and I spent every weekend exploring the Smithsonian museums, and didn't complete the project. I ran out of time.

This of course doesn't mean that other federal museums can't be located elsewhere in the country though, and we have the examples of Pier 21 in Halifax and the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg. National Historical Parks also serve this function in a way.

As for NB, Fredericton is well served by the Lord Beaverbrook Art Gallery, but the province really needs to step up it's game with the NB Museum in Saint John. There is no provincial museum in Moncton, but there are grass roots efforts to bring a Museum of Modern Art to the city. I think this is a worthwhile project.

[Luisito]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

We don't have any Museums dedicated to Asian Art (The US has at least 3) or one for the Asian-Canadian experience (save for the tiny one in Vancouver Chinatown). The US has at least 5 (some dedicated to Chinese, one Japanese). Pretty pitiful given the larger proportion of Canadians that are of Asian descent.

It's even more pitiful we don't have one for Scottish Canadians. They pretty much built this country as we know it.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Luisito

I would like to see a Museum dedicated to Scottish Canadians and all the contributions they have made to this country. They built much of its institutions and identity.

Good point. Never thought of that.

Unlikely in the current socio-political context though.