GUELPH – Guelph Museums will commemorate the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation with a series of opportunities to learn, reflect, and honour First Nations, Inuit and Métis victims and survivors of residential schools.
Hope and Healing
Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers brings her site-specific art installation #hopeandhealingcanada to the Civic Museum.
Through a simultaneous interior and exterior art experience, Chambers uses red yarn to make connections between people, communities, and the environment.
With this work, the artist responds to experiences of the pandemic, and discoveries of the remains of Indigenous children buried at former residential schools, through a decolonial art intervention.
Visitors to the museum can witness the creation process over three days.
The three day period to view the process will run from Sept. 22 to 24.
The outdoor installation at the Civic Museum runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 24.
The installation in the museum’s glass entrance will continue from Sept. 24 to Feb. 27.
Both installation sites are available to view for free, and advanced registration is not required.
Where the Rivers Meet
The local history gallery at the Civic Museum is being updated to better reflect the history of Indigenous Peoples who have been on this land, now known as Guelph, since time immemorial.
Where the Rivers Meet, a new display within the city gallery, centres the Original Peoples who have been on this land since time immemorial.
It includes information about migration, land relationship, treaties, impacts of colonization, and past and present-day perspectives.
The new display also considers the founding story of Guelph within the context of a longer history lens.
“This is a living exhibition that reflects the truth as we understand it today,” says museum manager Tammy Adkin.
“We still have much to learn from our treaty partner, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and from Indigenous people who call Guelph home today.
“We continue to listen and learn, and we will update the material presented in the museum as our knowledge grows.”
This display launches Sept. 28 and is included with admission to the Civic Museum.
Anishinaabe Oral Tradition
Guelph resident Rene Andre Meshake presents Anishinaabe Oral Tradition on the Civic Museum patio Sept. 30 at 2pm.
He will perform a combination of written and oral storytelling as well as accompanying music.
Meshake is an Anishinaabe elder, residential school survivor, visual and performing artist, award-winning author, storyteller, flute player, new media artist, and a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
He works to fuse Ojibwe and English words into his stories, poetry, and spoken word performances.
This event is family friendly, and advanced registration is required.
Tickets are available at the Guelph Museums Eventbrite page.
Guelph Civic Museum is located at 52 Norfolk Street. It is physically accessible.
Advanced registration is required to visit museum sites, and tickets can be booked at the Guelph Museums page on Eventbrite.
Information regarding admission, hours, and COVID-19 guidelines is available at guelphmuseums.ca.
