The Editor,
I have been following the conversations in local media about plans for the two new museums, one a replacement for the current Richmond Museum and the other for an Olympic Museum at the Oval, with interest. I support heritage preservation and education and am an avid visitor of museums wherever I go. (In fact, my children lamented they were the only kids who had ever visited every museum on Maui.)
I have to wonder, though, are we going to house our museums in big buildings that will sit virtually unused or are we going to spend those dollars strategically and with a view to the future? Are we going to look seriously at who we are targeting and how to best reach them? Apart from a few truly world class museums and heritage sites I've been to in Europe, most I have attended have been lonely places.
On the Sunday of the recent Doors Open, I was thrilled to see many in the newly opened tram building but, just a short walk away, only a scattering of people in the Britannia Bunkhouse and Shipyard.
If they are not there on a sunny Sunday when admission is free and advertising made it easy to find, when will they come?
We need to think more about how to take the history to the public. Let's ensure we have the space needed to curate and protect our artefacts and to create and program exhibits, but let's make those exhibits mobile. Let's put them in specially built vans or trucks and take them out to local schools every week of the school year, to every community event, to summer community centre programs, to local malls and businesses. In short, let's take the history to the people. We should also be looking at how to "get it out there" virtually, making our history come alive for anyone who has a computer or mobile screen, wherever the viewer might be.
In speaking recently to someone involved in the Olympics museum planning, I heard that the "Olympic experience" at the Oval is expected to be a Richmond tourist draw. I would be interested to find a similar project that has been a success in terms of numbers of visits as well as what success looks like long-term for such a project.
The issue always is that the people planning museums are museum buffs and history lovers, in this case, local history and Olympics history; I am sure they and their friends will all attend, but what about the remaining 99 per cent of Richmond taxpayers and visitors?
If we can make it easy for more people to view exhibits and learn about their community, the funds being committed will be better utilized and our community's appreciation for heritage will increase dramatically. Richmond has been a leader in many aspects of parks and recreation; we have a chance now to lead in the area of culture and heritage. Let's do it!
Julie Halfnights
Richmond
