Museum-Making: ‘New’ Canadians Re-Imagine Heritage and Citizenship


Project Description:
The Museum-making project will study the creation of museums and public cultural/history exhibitions developed by immigrant communities. It will look at ‘museum-making’ as a process through which ethnic communities and newcomers make sense of and reconfigure their ideas about heritage, identity and belonging. An inventory of museum and heritage sites and projects will be undertaken and a network of Ontario-based researchers and community activists interested in museums in Ontario will be established. This will provide the basis for an expanded project that will study such heritage activities across Canada.

 

Leads (Names and Cities of researchers):

  • Susan Ashley, Trent University, Peterborough, ON

Associates:

  • Davina Bhandar, Trent University, Peterborough, ON
  • Caroline Andrew, University of Ottawa, ON

 

Start Date: October 2011

 

Deliverables:

  • Study and inventory of museum-related activities in Ontario
  • Network of Ontario-based researchers and community activists interested in museums

 

Funder: Welcoming Communities Initiative (WCI)

 

Pilot cities/sites (if relevant):

  • Peterborough, Ottawa, St. Catharines, London, Sudbury, Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (Brampton, Markham, Vaughan)