Royal British Columbia Museum
 Main entrance to the museum |
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| Data | |
|---|---|
| place | Victoria , Canada |
| Art |
historical Museum
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| opening | 1886 |
| management |
Pauline Rafferty (CEO)
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| Website | |
The Royal British Columbia Museum (Royal Museum of British Columbia) is a historical and ethnographic museum in Victoria , the capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia .
The museum is one of the most important research and cultural institutions in Canada. It is located on the Inner Harbor, between the Empress Hotel and the Parliament building. Around the building there is a belt of other historical monuments, such as Thunderbird Park and Helmcken House (the oldest non- Indian house in the province), as well as an archive .
Focus
The museum houses seven million exhibits with a focus on natural history , First Nations of the province of British Columbia, and recent history. A distinction is therefore made between three galleries , the First Peoples Gallery , the Modern History Gallery and the Natural History Gallery . The galleries each correspond to one floor.
The First Peoples Gallery offers totem poles , masks and canoes , but also a plank or long house and descriptions of the first encounters with Europeans. Masks and nave are especially by members of the North of Vancouver Iceland resident Kwakwaka'wakw been made. In addition, there are donations, collections and loan items from the First Nations. The house has Kwakwabalasami, Jonathan Hunt, made a chief from Tsa x is (Fort Rupert), numerous masks and totem poles in front of the museum come from chief N ak ap ' a nk a m, Mungo Martin , of the tribe of the Kwakiutl . Bill Reid of the Haida designed an exhibition on the smallpox epidemic of 1862 and its disastrous consequences. Photography and filming are prohibited in this area of the museum.
The Modern History Gallery , on the same floor as the one above the First Nations, shows the history of the region since the end of the 18th century, starting with a partial reconstruction of George Vancouver's ship , the HMS Discovery , over a water wheel from the 19th century gold mines. Century, the reconstruction of a farm and the street scene from 1903 at the Dominion Drapers Building to a pharmacy in Chinatown .
The Natural History Gallery shows flora and fauna , such as grizzly bears and sea lions , but also geological and climatic changes . Here are simulated trips, such as the deep sea, videos, dioramas and an IMAX movie theater used. Dioramas particularly impressively show the region-specific natural spaces, such as sea coasts and temperate rainforests , or the delta of the Fraser River . A marine station opened in 2006/07.
There are also temporary exhibitions about Leonardo da Vinci , dinosaurs or the Titanic .
The RBCM Cultural Precinct is located in the vicinity of the house , more precisely between Douglas, Belleville and Government Street. It consists of the BC Archives (the archives for the province), the Helmcken House (it is the house built in 1852 by John Sebastian Helmcken [1824–1920]), the St. Ann's Schoolhouse (a school building directly opposite from the same period) , the Netherlands Carillon (a bell tower donated in 1967 by the Dutch municipality in the province), Thunderbird Park and the Mungo Martin House , in its Wawadit'la language .
history
The museum was founded in 1886, the archive in 1894. It was not until 2003 that the two institutions were institutionally merged.
It was founded in response to a petition from thirty prominent citizens of the city. The first seat was the office of the Provincial Secretary (Provincial Secretary) in the building, which was given the name "the bird cages" ("the Bird Cages"). The first curator was John Fannin, a passionate collector, after whom today's exhibition building, the Fannin building , is named. Soon the museum was moved to the Supreme Court building , then in 1898 to the east wing of the Parliament building. With the Museum Act of 1913, the house was given the two priorities of natural history and the history of the indigenous people of the province. Large amounts of artifacts , especially from the First Nations, could be acquired, and so an underground projectile had to be dug as early as 1921.
In 1941 six lots were vacated on the corner of Belleville and Douglas Street and Thunderbird Park was established. At that time, originals were still on display, which ten years later showed clear signs of deterioration. So they had to be restored and placed more protected. They were replaced by copies.
By 1961, the number of annual visits exceeded 100,000. Prime Minister Bennett announced a move in 1963 for which the British Queen Elizabeth II laid the foundation stone. Two years later, in 1968, the new house was opened. To this end, the new museum law stipulated that a collection on modern history should also be created: the Modern History Gallery was created, which opened in 1972. Five years later, The 12,000 Year Gap Galleries and First Peoples Galleries opened ; Another two years later, as the first part of Natural History, the Living Land, Living Sea exhibition on the second floor.
For almost a century, museums (and collectors) around the world had bought the artifacts of the 198 recognized tribes alone, as well as other tribes in British Columbia, and occasionally sneaked them out or forced them to be released. But the relationship with the First Nations has changed significantly over the past few decades.
This was stipulated again in 2003/04. On the one hand, the original owners are continuously asked about the interpretation, presentation and didactic preparation of the exhibits . In principle, all objects are now considered the property of the respective tribes, which should be associated with appropriate respect, which relates in particular to ceremonial objects, grave goods and above all to the mortal remains of people. At the same time, exhibits that have been more or less illegally acquired are to be returned, but the aim, if possible, is to keep the pieces in the museum. The cooperation with museums of the First Nations is to be intensified. In addition, a constant flow of information should connect the objects with their owners, who in turn should have easier access to their important objects. If an heir can prove a current need for a ritual object, it must be returned. The items necessary for a potlatch can be loaned out. This further develops partnership principles that were jointly drafted by the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Museums Association .
For almost 30 years there has been a school program aimed at schoolchildren at reduced prices. It took place between October 16, 2007 and May 15, 2008.
There is now an online exhibition on whales , dinosaurs , songbirds , endangered species and octopuses , plus the collection donated by Grace Bell (1900–1986) with countless recordings of bird calls.
As a result of the global economic crisis, ticket sales fell from 2008 and government funds were cut, so that 12 million in grants are earmarked for 2012. CEO Pauline Rafferty named in March 2010 a loss of $ 491,000 for the year 2009. This also contributed to the fact that the special exhibition in 2009, in contrast to the 2008 Titanic , which had brought in $ 30.2 million, losses was marked. Therefore, no further exhibitions of this kind are to take place before 2012, apart from the already planned exhibition of the Terracotta Army in 2011.
Organizational matters
Pauline Rafferty has been Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) since 2001. The trained archaeologist (excavation campaigns 1974-79) worked for the archeology department , Heritage Trust and later for the Ministry of Tourism. In 1990 she was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister at the Department of Women's Equality. From 1992 she worked on a new business plan at the museum and was director of the museum from 1994 to 2001 with responsibility for finance, marketing , human resources and information systems.
Grant Hughes has been responsible for the research and conservation program since 1993, the archive manager is Gary Mitchell, and Tim Willis is responsible for the exhibition management. There are also Diane Lloyd for Development and Angela Williams for Business and Operational Services and Faye Zinck for Finance. Lorne Hammond is responsible for the Helmcken House.
In addition to the province, there is a foundation with 6,000 members behind the house. Ticket sales in 2007 totaled just under CAD 3.6 million , with an additional nearly CAD 2 million. The total cost was approximately $ 20 million. Volunteers work for the museum over 40,000 hours a year. The institution now manages around 10 million properties.
On April 1, 2003, with the new Museum Act, the archives ( British Columbia Archives ), Helmcken House , the Netherlands Carillon , Thunderbird Park , St Ann's Schoolhouse and the museum itself were combined to form the Royal BC Museum Corporation .
Expansion plans
The 14-story Fannin building , in which the exhibitions take place, is to be demolished, as is the British Columbia Archives . A new ten- to twelve-story house is to be built in its place. The main entrance will be located there. Shops, cafés, offices and a Center for dialogue are planned there, as well as rooms for temporary exhibitions.
The collections and archive are to be relocated to two 14-story towers on the current parking lot. The museum should offer one and a half times as much space and at the same time be built according to the highest standards of energy and environmental design .
See also
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ Access to the online exhibition: Archived copy ( memento of the original from August 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Royal BC Museum faces $ 491,000 deficit , in: Times-Colonist, March 6, 2010 ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ According to Royal British Columbia Museum Collections Policy (PDF, 88 kB): available online here ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 90 kB).
- ^ Museum unveils big expansion plans , in: Times-Colonist, February 19, 2010 ( Memento of the original from March 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
Coordinates: 48 ° 25 '11.3 " N , 123 ° 22' 2.8" W.