[Bcma-l] (Fwd) New Exhbit at the Royal BC Museum Honours War Brides

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

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Subject:        	New Exhbit at the Royal BC Museum Honours War Brides
Date sent:      	Mon, 5 May 2008 13:28:23 -0700

For Immediate Release
May 5, 2008

New exhibit at the Royal BC Museum honours war brides

VICTORIA, BC - During the 1940s, thousands of war brides from 
foreign countries left everything and everyone they'd ever known and 
travelled overseas to join their servicemen husbands. This spring and 
summer, the Royal BC Museum presents an exhibition honouring 
these women's stories.

War Brides: One-Way Passage, created by Calgary artist Bev Tosh, is 
a collection of some 80 contemporary paintings; more than 800
photographs; and a series of multiple media installations. The
exhibition will be shown on the third floor of the Royal BC Museum,
May 9 to Sept. 1, 2008.

"We are honoured to host this exhibition," says Pauline Rafferty, CEO
of the Royal BC Museum. "These are stories that showcase the 
strength and durability of the human spirit during one of the most 
tumultuous times in history."

Some 44,000 war brides and their 21,000 children immigrated to 
Canada during the Second World War, in an effort organized and paid 
for by the Canadian government. In addition, an estimated 4,000 
women emigrated from Canada as brides of Allied military personnel 
who had trained in Canada. 

"Crossing the Atlantic was a dreadful journey," says Tosh. "For many
of the war brides, it was a long, heart-wrenching trip, leaving behind
everything and everyone they had ever known. Some say the ships 
sailed on oceans of tears."

This presentation of War Brides: One-Way Passage at the Royal BC
Museum will include such never-before-seen elements as a painting of 
a Victoria-based woman and a catalogue authored by Tosh. Thirteen 
war brides from British Columbia are featured in the exhibit.

On Mother's Day weekend, May 10 and 11, at 2 p.m., Tosh will host 
free presentations in Clifford Carl Hall at the Royal BC Museum. 
Visitors are encouraged to come early as seating will be limited, and
reservations are not available. 

The Royal BC Museum, a provincial crown corporation, collects,
preserves and interprets artifacts, specimens and documents that tell
the story of British Columbia. As the provincial museum and archives,
the RBCM proudly shares that story with the world through its
research, exhibitions and public programs.

For more information on the Royal BC Museum, visit
www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or call 1-888-447-7977.

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Media Contact:	Diane Dakers
   Communications Manager
   Royal BC Museum Corporation
   (250) 387-2101
   ddakers@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca 


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