The Canadian Museum of Civilization and Quebec City’s Musée de la civilisation’s first partnership promises a memorable experience

The Canadian Museum of Civilization and
Quebec City’s Musée de la civilisation’s first partnership promises a memorable experience

Quebec, Gatineau, December 4, 2009 — The Musée de la civilisation de Québec (MCQ) and the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) have signed their first partnership agreement to create a uniquely Canadian version of God(s): A User’s Guide. This highly successful international exhibition will challenge visitors to reflect on religious experiences that are universal. It will open the doors to believers and non-believers to discover the multiplicity of practices around the world.

Originally created by Tempora for the Museum of Europe in Brussels, where it premiered in 2006, God(s): A User’s Guide was presented in Madrid in 2007 and Paris in 2008. Now, the concept is being reinterpreted to reflect North America’s diverse religious and ethnic communities.

“The Canadian Museum of Civilization is honoured to collaborate with the Musée de la civilisation. Both institutions will share and benefit from each other’s expertise, artifact collections and resources,” said Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. “By adapting God(s): A User’s Guide for our own visitors, we can provide a uniquely Canadian perspective that celebrates religious differences as well as similarities.”

God(s): A User’s Guide will examine the commonalities shared by virtually all religions. Universal themes such as the belief in a higher power and a world beyond our own; the use of spiritual intermediaries such as priests, imams, shamans and prophets; the importance of sacred rituals, and the celebration of holidays and rites of passage are all explored in this fascinating exhibition. The exhibition is particularly important in a multifaceted country like Canada, where multiple religious practices and beliefs coexist.

“Presenting an exhibition on the world’s major religions fits squarely within our mission and lets us work synergistically with a museum whose role is similar to ours,” said Claire Simard, MCQ executive director. “For Musée de la civilisation, a jointly produced exhibition has a number of advantages. It lets us share our expertise and naturally reduce expenditures—and in today’s environment, that’s no small thing,” she continued. “The agreement between the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Musée de la civilisation in Québec City illustrates the importance we attach to productive professional relationships with other institutions. We aren’t competitors, we’re partners, with each institution acting as both an exhibition producer and host,” Ms. Simard added.

God(s): A User’s Guide illustrates and explains the practices of major religions by combining artifacts, ordinary objects, multimedia, artistic works and interactive participation. In addition to illustrating the rich diversity of spiritual practices, the new adaptation of the exhibition will include First Nations and Inuit traditions, using artifacts from the mus