BC Museums Week 2024: Imagine the Future
Media Kit
May 13 – 19, 2024 | #BCMW24
In 2024, the BC Museums Association is joining its members in imagining a bright future for the arts, culture, and heritage sector.
May 13-19 is BC Museums Week and on International Museum Day (Thursday, May 18), we call upon our members and anyone who is passionate about museums to both imagine a bright future for our sector and to take action today to help make it a reality.
How to Participate
During the week of May 13, we ask members to share curated BC Museums Week images and text on their preferred social media accounts. Be sure to tag the BC Museums Association on social media:
Social Media Text
Option 1:
Did you know that 96% of Canadians view arts, culture, and heritage organizations as essential spaces for community education? During BC Museums Week 2024, we are imagining a future where museums, galleries, and heritage sites bring communities together to make sense of a rapidly changing world.
#BCMW2024 #IMD2024
Option 2:
Did you know that 4% of Canadians agreed that arts, culture, and heritage organizations have a critical role to play in addressing reconciliation, racial justice, and gender inequality? During BC Museums Week 2024, we are imagining a future where museums, galleries, and heritage sites support a more just and equitable world.
#BCMW2024 #IMD2024
Option 3:
Did you know that 93% of Canadians agree that museums, galleries, and heritage sites “spark curiosity, provoke wonder, promote creativity, and support a love of learning?” May 13-19 is BC Museums Week and we encourage our community to visit a new museum this week and spark creativity, wonder, and curiosity.
#BCMW2024 #IMD2024
Social Media Graphics
We encourage you to share the pre-made BCMA-created images linked below.
On May 17, the BCMA will be monitoring the above hashtags and resharing posts with our network.
Accessibility note: We encourage you to include image descriptions as alt text for the images you share on social media. An image description provides additional details about the images you share and allows, for example people who use screen readers to better engage with the content. To learn more about the importance of alt text and how to use it on social media, we recommend reading this article from Hootsuite.
Other Ways of Participating
If you are not able to participate on social media, we encourage two other methods of magnifying our collective impact: writing a letter to your local council, MLA, or MP, or, sending a letter to your local paper.
From creating jobs, to supporting tourism, to reframing our understandings of the past, our sector matters. But for people to understand why our sector matters, we must tell that story. By sending a letter to a local representative or your local paper, you are helping to ensure that arts, culture, and heritage organizations are at the front of peoples’ minds.
Template Letter for Elected Representatives
The BCMA has created the following customizable templates to support your outreach to local, provincial, and federal representatives. Click the links to download a Word document that can be customized to tell the story of why museums matter:
To find the contact information for your elected representatives, use CivicInfo BC to find local government information, Elections BC to find your MLA, and Elections Canada to find your MP.
Letter to the Editor Example
Local newspapers love to hear from museums, galleries, and heritage sites in their communities. Writing letters to the editor can be a great way to share news about your work and its impact. The BCMA has drafted the following letter and encourages members to download and customize it for their own advocacy.
BC Museums Week
Join the BCMA from May 13-19 in imagining a sustainable, inclusive, and vibrant future, not only for museums and cultural institutions, but for all British Columbians. The past five years have been hard for museums, galleries, cultural institutions, and the people who work and volunteer in them. At the BC Museums Association, we increasingly hear from our members that people are struggling with burnout, overload, and a general lack of hope for the future.
