The ICOM Canada Board is getting into ICOM’s International Museum Day activities from home this year. From colouring our own versions of the IMD 2020 poster to visiting museums virtually and reflecting on digital inclusion, see how board members are joining the celebrations below.
This post will be updated regularly in the days leading up to May 18 and International Museum Day.
Learn more about how you can join the IMD 2020 celebrations here.
Dr. Karine Duhamel
How is your museum supporting diversity and inclusion (digitally or otherwise)?
During the pandemic, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights continues to work to create high-quality digital stories that will enable people to connect to human rights awareness and education remotely. Timely stories such as Us vs. Them: The process of othering draw our attention to the dangers of exclusion and hate during challenging times.
What encouragement do you have for museums and museum workers working remotely or experiencing closures?
The social isolation required during this time has made the importance of human connection more important than ever before and has drawn attention to the essential role that museums and museum workers play in connecting us all. While COVID-19 is a challenging time for all museums, it encourages us to think outside of the box about how to facilitate human connection and access to culture while in isolation. Museum workers have the capacity to think creatively and embrace this challenge.
Dr. Elka Weinstein
How are you accessing and experiencing culture while museums are closed?
Dr. Sascha Priewe
How is your museum supporting diversity and inclusion (digitally or otherwise)?
The Royal Ontario Museum has been posting Indigenous Insight Facebook videos to our YouTube channel to increase access. There are also posts on ROM’s social media and other channels about the ROM’s Indigenous culture and learning initiatives, throwing to the ROM’s Instagram for more visual and interactive content. The Ask ROM Anything series will feature our Indigenous learning coordinator talking about Indigenous culture on the Thursday of IMD week. Also on social media, the ROM Governors social channels feature Third Tuesday Nights Free (TTNF), supported by TD Bank and the Bennett Family Foundation, and Susan Horvath’s (President and CEO, ROM Governors) email message to ROM supporters will focus on TTNF, the ROM’s social prescriptions program, ROMCAN, and other initiatives geared to greater ROM access to celebrate IMD with donors. And finally, the Diversity/Inclusion group will release a creative writing module centered on mental health and well-being with our partner Inkwell on May 18.
How are you marking International Museum Day?
Send ICOM Canada an email (icomcanada@gmail.com) with your answers to some of the questions below so we can see how you’re engaging with IMD 2020 from home.
- How is your museum supporting diversity and inclusion (digitally or otherwise)?
- How do you see museums promoting and supporting this year’s IMD-focused UN Sustainable Development Goals (5 – Gender Equality, 10 – Reduced Inequalities, 13 – Climate Action, 16 – Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions)?
- How are you accessing and experiencing culture with physical distancing and while museums are closed?
- What social media accounts/threads/or hashtags are following/finding of interest these days?
- What encouragement do you have for museums and museum workers working remotely or experiencing closures?