Government of Canada Supports Eight Montréal-Area Museum Projects
MONTRÉAL, October 13, 2005 -- President of the Privy Council, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Member of Parliament (Westmount--Ville-Marie) Lucienne Robillard, on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women Liza Frulla, today announced $523,897 in funding for ten projects that will be undertaken by eight Montréal-area museums."Our museums are an open window on our heritage," said Minister Robillard. "I am pleased that the Government of Canada supports institutions that enable local residents and visitors to explore entire chapters in the history of Montréal and Canada."
"Museums serve as guardians of our collective heritage and increase Canadians' awareness of the rich and unique history they are heir to," said Minister Frulla. "We must support these institutions, which are devoted to preserving and exhibiting treasures from our past."
For more information on the projects being undertaken by the museums, please see the backgrounder attached to this news release on the Web site of the Department of Canadian Heritage at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room.
Financial assistance is provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage to these eight institutions through its Museums Assistance Program. The Program provides fiancial assistance to Canadian museums and related institutions for projects that foster excellence in museum activities and that facilitate access to our collective heritage.
Funding for this initiative was provided for in the February 2005 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
Information:
Jean-François Del Torchio
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Minister responsible for Status of Women
(819) 997-7788
Nathalie Dallaire
Senior Assistant
Office of the Honourable
Lucienne Robillard
(514) 283-2013
Marie-Claude Cadorette
Communications Manager
Canadian Heritage
Quebec Region
(514) 283-4027
Backgrounder
The Government of Canada is providing $523,897 in funding to eight Montréal-area museums to help them carry out ten projects.
Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) - $16,525
The CCA will train staff to use The Museum System software. It will help catalogue the Centre's collections, provide integrated management of collection items, and ensure consistency between documentation sources. It will also provide the public with access to databases and researchers with documentary support.
Château Ramezay Museum - $20,000
The Museum will reorganize and improve its information on its Quebec ethnology collection, which comprises about 5000 items. It will then computerize and digitize the textual and iconographic data in order to add them to the Artefacts Canada and the Info-Muse networks.
Corporation de la chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours et du Musée Marguerite-Bourgeoys - $21,305
The Corporation will document and digitize a collection of religious heritage items belonging to the Society of Saint Sulpice. It will also conduct research and prepare temporary and virtual exhibitions of the collection, which will be displayed for the first time.
McCord Museum of Canadian History - $61,269
The Museum will digitize and catalogue 15 500 photographs from Series 1 of the Notman Collection, which covers the period from 1865 to 1870. The photographs, many of which portray influential figures from the period of Confederation, will be posted on the MuseumÕs Web site.
Society of Saint Sulpice in Montréal (two projects)
Project 1 - $39,185
The Society will recover, inventory, document and store three lots of objects, which include scientific instruments, religious and secular objects in gold and silver, and liturgical vestments.
Project 2 - $44,083
The Society will digitize and give access to three lots of objects from the Sulpician collections through the Artefacts Canada database.
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal - $88,908
The Museum will tour an exhibition of works by Montréal artist Dominique Blain in Regina and Calgary in 2006. The 33 multimedia works were presented in a retrospective exhibition in Montréal in 2004.
Société d'astronomie du Planétarium de Montréal - $112,622
In collaboration with planetariums in Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg, the Society will create a bilingual multimedia presentation called "The Quest for Life in the Universe." This bilingual presentation will highlight the work of various Canadian researchers in this area.
Pointe-à-Callière Montréal Museum of Archaeology
and History Society (two projects)
Project 1 - $30,000
The Society will tour the Museum's "Dreams and Realities Along the Lachine Canal" exhibition in 2005 and 2006 to Stellarton, Nova Scotia; Hamilton, Ontario; and Montréal, Quebec. The exhibition was presented at the Pointe-à-Callière Museum from November 25, 2003 to April 25, 2004. Created in partnership with Parks Canada and supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the exhibition examines the history of the Lachine Canal and its social and urban impact in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Project 2 - $90,000
The Museum will create a travelling exhibition called "Meet the St. Lawrence Iroquois: the First Farmers in the Valley." The exhibition will explore the little-known history of the first people to establish farming communities in what is now Quebec's most populated area.
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