BC Museums Association Podcast

Welcome to MuseNews, the BCMA’s monthly museum sector news podcast. Each month we recap some of the latest news, happenings, and announcements from museums, galleries, and heritage organizations across BC and beyond. Join Ryan and Lorenda as we explore the latest MuseNews!

 

Featured News for November 2021:

• Congratulations to the 2021 Recipients of the BCMA Awards for Outstanding Achievement!
• Royal B.C. Museum to close exhibits that further colonial narrative
• Museum at Campbell River releases children’s book about SS Northwestern
• Britannia Mine Museum wins TEA Thea Award
• New curator at Kelowna Art Gallery
• Vernon Museum will provide a look into the collection of objects and archives

In this fourth episode of our #CALM series, we speak with Tara Fraser (Vancouver Art Gallery) and Heidi Swierenga (Museum of Anthropology at UBC), two members of the BC Heritage Emergency Response Network (BC HERN) steering committee. Tara, Heidi, and volunteers from BC HERN were able to go to Lytton BC in October to assist with the salvage and recovery of items from the Lytton Chinese History Museum and the Lytton Museum & Archives.

Join Tara and Heidi as they reflect upon this experience and how it will help to inform BC HERN's future work.

The BC Heritage Emergency Response Network is a growing consortium of art, culture and heritage professionals and volunteers in BC who feel morally and professionally obliged to plan for emergency situations and to support other cultural institutions in the event of localized emergencies that impact collections. The initiative was born from the identified lack of a unified support plan for disaster response and collections salvage in the province in light of the growing risk to collections due to climate change.

The BC HERN aims to build confidence to ensure the successful recovery of heritage collections. The formation of the network is based on two principles: establishing connections between institutions, and training individuals in these institutions on collections salvage procedures. Once staff are trained in salvage and recovery, their institutions will be incorporated into the growing number of response zones throughout the Province.

In this third episode of our #CALM series, we speak with Tara Fraser (Vancouver Art Gallery) and Heidi Swierenga (Museum of Anthropology at UBC), two members of the BC Heritage Emergency Response Network (BC HERN) steering committee.

The BC Heritage Emergency Response Network is a growing consortium of art, culture and heritage professionals and volunteers in BC who feel morally and professionally obliged to plan for emergency situations and to support other cultural institutions in the event of localized emergencies that impact collections. The initiative was born from the identified lack of a unified support plan for disaster response and collections salvage in the province in light of the growing risk to collections due to climate change.

The BC HERN aims to build confidence to ensure the successful recovery of heritage collections. The formation of the network is based on two principles: establishing connections between institutions, and training individuals in these institutions on collections salvage procedures. Once staff are trained in salvage and recovery, their institutions will be incorporated into the growing number of response zones throughout the Province.

How does culture connect to climate action? How do we value nature? What are museums roles’ in preserving and advocating for natural, intangible and tangible heritage? How can museums center Indigenous knowledge in climate action and disrupt legacies of settler colonialism in climate action? 

In this second episode of our #CALM series, we interview Lauren Ball and Chantal MacDonald who together created the Bateman Foundation's Value Nature Podcast. Tune into this insightful conversation in which they discuss the importance of experiential learning, hope, reconciliation, the value of nature, and many other intersecting topics. 

To access their podcast referenced in this episode, including their episode exploring the protection of old growth forests, click here. Follow the Value Nature Podcast on Instagram or Facebook or learn more about the Bateman Foundation here. 

We are excited to announce the BCMA's Climate Action Podcast Series! To kick off the series, this first episode interviews Dr. Deondre Smiles, an Indigenous geographer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Victoria. Dr. Smiles (he/him) is Ojibwe, Black, and settler, and a citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

In this episode, Dr. Smiles discusses the legacies of settler colonialism in environmentalism and climate action, as well as the potential role of the cultural sector in reimagining stewardship, centering Indigenous ways of knowing, and creative ways of relating with living environments, including more-than-human kin, in an era of climate crisis. 

 

To read Settler Logics of (Outer) Space referenced in this episode, click here. To learn more about Dr. Smiles and his other works, click here.

Join the BCMA as we chat with Cheryl Hendrickson, Executive Director at the Britannia Mine Museum about their on-site cate - the Chatterbox Cafe! Cheryl takes us through the steps they have taken to make their cafe financially lucrative and sustainable.

 

This podcast is part of our Financial Sustainability Week. Financial Sustainability week is sponsored by Island Savings, Envision Financial, and Valley First, divisions of First West Credit Union, offering sophisticated solutions for unique needs!

Paul Crawford joined the BCMA’s Leia Patterson for a brief interview in light of his nomination for the Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized an individual, paid or volunteer, who has made a unique and outstanding contribution on a regional, provincial, or national basis to the arts, culture, and heritage fields over an extended period of time.

Award winners will be announced at the BCMA Awards event during BCMA’s annual conference in October 2021. You can see all the interviews with Distinguished Service Nominees in your podcast feed or on our website. Check out the nominees across all categories, and cast your vote for the Peoples Choice Award at www.museum.bc.ca/awards

Sdaahl Ḵ’awaas Lucy Bell joined the BCMA’s Leia Patterson for a brief interview in light of her nomination for the Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized an individual, paid or volunteer, who has made a unique and outstanding contribution on a regional, provincial, or national basis to the arts, culture, and heritage fields over an extended period of time.

Award winners will be announced at the BCMA Awards event during BCMA’s annual conference in October 2021. You can see all the interviews with Distinguished Service Nominees in your podcast feed or on our website. Check out the nominees across all categories, and cast your vote for the Peoples Choice Award at www.museum.bc.ca/awards

Kirsten Clausen joined the BCMA’s Leia Patterson for a brief interview in light of her nomination for the Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized an individual, paid or volunteer, who has made a unique and outstanding contribution on a regional, provincial, or national basis to the arts, culture, and heritage fields over an extended period of time.

Award winners will be announced at the BCMA Awards event during BCMA’s annual conference in October 2021. You can see all the interviews with Distinguished Service Nominees in your podcast feed or on our website. Check out the nominees across all categories, and cast your vote for the Peoples Choice Award at www.museum.bc.ca/awards

Dr. Kirsten Hodge joined the BCMA’s Leia Patterson for a brief interview in light of her nomination for the Distinguished Service Award. This award recognized an individual, paid or volunteer, who has made a unique and outstanding contribution on a regional, provincial, or national basis to the arts, culture, and heritage fields over an extended period of time.

Award winners will be announced at the BCMA Awards event during BCMA’s annual conference in October 2021. You can see all the interviews with Distinguished Service Nominees in your podcast feed or on our website. Check out the nominees across all categories, and cast your vote for the Peoples Choice Award at www.museum.bc.ca/awards