For immediate release:
May 16, 2022
BC Museums Week to Celebrate Innovative Museums, Defying Expectations, and Outside-of-the-Box Cultural Leaders
From May 16-22, BC Museums Weeks 2022 will celebrate how museums across British Columbia and beyond are pushing boundaries and defying expectations. From creating new community spaces, to confronting difficult truths, to shifting their focus from collections to people, British Columbians are invited to join the BC Museums Association to celebrate innovative museums and outside-of-the-box cultural leaders.
“The past two years have tested museums like never before, but our sector is rising to the challenge,” says Ryan Hunt Executive Director of the BC Museums Association. “Museums are using their voices to challenge the status quo, bring communities together, and ultimately, to fight for a better future.”
Each day between May 16-22 the BC Museums Association and its members will share impactful stories and thought-provoking learning opportunities. Highlights include:
- On May 16, Anti-Hate Canada joins the BCMA for a free public lecture that explores how museums can take a stand against online hate speech and misinformation.
- On May 18, BCMA and Heritage BC co-present a free public online lecture with Ry Moran Canada’s inaugural Associate University Librarian – Reconciliation at the University of Victoria, which explores the vital importance of truth-telling in our collective work of reconciliation, healing, and peacemaking.
- On May 20, BCMA invites British Columbians with a love for museums to attend a cross-country panel of emerging cultural leaders to imagine the future of Canada’s arts, culture, and heritage sector.
More information about daily programming is available at: https://museum.bc.ca/conferences-and-events/bc-museums-week/
About BC Museums:
- Total revenues for B.C.’s museum sector is estimated at over $225 million annually
- Over 4,400 people are employed in B.C.’s museum sector
- Over 19,000 volunteers contribute over 1 million hours of work each year in museums and heritage institutions
- 11 million annual visitors to B.C. heritage institutions
- 7 million visits to museums’ digital collections
Source: Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions: 2019
About the BC Museums Association:
Founded in 1957, the British Columbia Museums Association (BCMA) creates a bright future for British Columbia’s museum, gallery, and related heritage communities through networking, advocacy, innovation, and professional development. Since our founding, the BCMA has grown to include more than 450 members in every corner of the province representing museums, art galleries, science centres, Indigenous cultural organizations, heritage sites, botanical and zoological gardens, cultural centres, conservation institutes, exhibition galleries permanently maintained by libraries and archives, and nature reserves.
Contact:
Ryan Hunt, Executive Director, BCMA
Tel: 250.884.0499; executivedirector@museum.bc.ca
