The Canadian Museum of Civilization and Canadian War Museum share exhibitions about our history with people across the country

 MEDIA RELEASE

 For immediate release

Gatineau, Quebec, July 22, 2013 — This summer and fall, 11 of the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s and Canadian War Museum’s popular travelling exhibitions will be on the road, presented in 15 venues in five provinces.

“As Canada’s foremost museums of Canadian history, we are proud to reach out to all Canadians wherever they live and to share with them these stories of Canada’s human and military history,” said Mark O’Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. “Museum visitors across the country, from Quebec and Ontario to Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, will have the chance to learn more about our rich and diverse collective heritage.”

Canadian Museum of Civilization travelling exhibitions

The exhibition Expedition: Arctic will be on display at the Nanaimo Museum in Nanaimo, British Columbia from August 12 to November 2, 2013. Developed in collaboration with the Canadian Museum of Nature, the exhibition revisits the triumphs and tragedies of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-1918 and reveals how it added to our understanding of the Canadian Arctic and its peoples. Following its presentation in British Columbia, Expedition: Arctic will then travel to the Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery in Red Deer, Alberta, where it will be shown from November 25, 2013 to February 16, 2014.

The Musée du Château Ramezay in Montréal, Quebec is hosting Heart and Soul: Quebec Folk Art, which showcases 65 exceptional works of Quebec folk art dating from the 18th century to today. It is on display until November 3, 2013.

At the Musée des Abénakis in Odanak, Quebec, visitors have the chance to see Inuit Prints: Japanese Inspiration, an exhibition that features exquisite and extraordinarily rare Inuit and Japanese prints from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It is being presented until October 14, 2013.

The playful exhibition Top Secret: Mission Toy will delight visitors at the Musée minéralogique et minier de Thetford Mines in Thetford Mines, Quebec. The exhibition invites children to use their investigative and playtime skills to explore, examine and learn about intriguing toys from around the world. It is being presented until November 3, 2013.

A Queen and Her Country is on display at The RCA Museum, Canada’s National Artillery Museum in Shilo, Manitoba. The exhibition shows how the 60-year reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has parallelled Canada’s development as a modern, diverse country and how the Queen has helped to preserve our heritage and traditions. It focuses on four main periods of the Queen’s tours of Canada, including key historical events she attended, and is being presented in Shilo until August 18, 2013.

At Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in Calgary, Alberta, visitors can see Lace Up: Canada’s Passion for Skating. The exhibition explores the history and importance of hockey, figure skating and speed skating to our nation, along with many other fascinating facts about ice sports. It is on display in Calgary until August 11, 2013. Lace Up then travels to the MuséeHéritageMuseum in St. Albert, Alberta, where it will be on view from September 3 to November 3, 2013.

At the Galt Museum & Archives in Lethbridge, Alberta, museum-goers have the opportunity to see Wind Work, Wind Play: Weathervanes and Whirligigs, which features over 30 pieces of wind-powered folk art from the Museum’s collection. The exhibition is on display until September 2, 2013. Wind Work, Wind Play will then travel to the SurreyMuseum in Surrey, British Columbia, where it will be presented from September 24 to December 21, 2013.

Canadian War Museum travelling exhibitions

A 140-square-metre version of the War Museum’s 1812 exhibition is being presented at the St. Catharines Museum in St. Catharines, Ontario until August 18, 2013. Through descriptive text, images and artifacts, the exhibition presents a new and dramatic account of the War of 1812 as seen through the eyes of its Canadian, American, British and Native American participants, for whom it had surprisingly different meanings and consequences. By comparing these perspectives, visitors will gain a richer and deeper understanding of a conflict that helped shape Canada into the nation it is today.

A text and image only, 40-square-metre version of the exhibition 1812 is being presented at the Arthur Child Heritage Museum in Gananoque, Ontario until August 25, 2013. It will then travel to the PeterboroughMuseum and Archives in Peterborough, Ontario, where it will be on view from September 14 to December 8, 2013.

Making its national debut this summer is the exhibition Transformations – A.Y. Jackson and Otto Dix, which will open at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta on September 8, 2013. This exhibition explores the landscape art of A. Y. Jackson and Otto Dix, two internationally renowned artists who experienced the brutal conflict of the First World War as soldiers on opposing sides. It will be on display until January 19, 2014.

Museum visitors at The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford in Abbotsford, British Columbia will have the opportunity to see The Navy: A Century in Art. Marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Canadian navy, this exhibition of paintings, from many of Canada’s leading war artists, demonstrates how geography, history and war shaped the navy through its first century of service. From dramatic depictions of the Battle of the Atlantic to intimate portraits of life at sea and ashore, these vivid works capture the country’s rich naval experience. The exhibition will be presented in Abbotsford from September 26, 2013 to January 5, 2014.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation operates the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canadian War Museum and the Virtual Museum of New France. As part of their mandate, the Museums function as centres for research and public information on the social, military and human history of the country. Their principal role is to preserve and promote the heritage of Canada for present and future generations, thereby contributing to the enhancement of Canadian identity.

–­ 30 –­

Media contacts: