[BCMA] WWI Exhibit consultation

Thu Jan 7 13:19:12 PST 2016

Hello friends and colleagues of the BC Museums Community!

I'm Kate Kerr, the touring exhibitions coordinator at the Royal BC Museum. At the BCMA conference in October I talked to some of you about my museum's renewed commitment to collaboration and capacity building around the province. Many of you offered your ideas at a consultation breakfast we held at that time. We focused some of that lively discussion around a travelling exhibition we are planning which looks at BC and World War One. These ideas have now been incorporated into the content themes and approach for the exhibition by our exhibit curator, Lorne Hammond.

I'd like to extend the discussion to those of you who were unable to be part of our first session in New Westminster. Can you have a look at these themes and let us know your thoughts? We want to make sure that we're representing diverse viewpoints and presenting a multilayered exhibit. Another exciting aspect of this exhibit is that it will include opportunities for the inclusion of regional stories and artifacts, developed by the host museums and using design templates supplied by us.
In addition, we asked participants to answer three questions which we'd also ask of you:

1.    What regional WWI commemorative events or exhibits have taken place or are being planned in your organization?

2.    Is your organization interested in hosting the travelling WWI exhibit?

3.    Are there other organizations in your region that might be interested in presenting the WWI exhibition?
Your replies can be sent to me, Kate Kerr, Touring Exhibitions Coordinator for the Royal BC Museum at kkerr at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca<mailto:kkerr at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca>. I can also be reached at (250) 882-2309. Since this exhibit will start touring by the end of March, your input would be appreciated in the next week. I look forward to hearing from you!

-       Kate

WWI Commemoration:  Project Thematic Outline
Six themes to be addressed.  Themes supported by 3-4 small exhibit cases, which could include Royal BC Museum objects or local community objects.

Theme One: CALL TO ARMS
Description:  BC communities respond to the declaration of war.  Uses archival departure film of young "British" faces from BC local units heading off to war. Supporting panels address opposition to war: pacifists' concerns and conscientious objectors; barriers faced by diverse ethnic groups:  Chinese, First Nations, Japanese and Sikh.  If space allows, panels address the internment of citizens now designated "enemy aliens."
Community Consultation Connections:  Addresses theme of "a British war," regional identities and cultural diversity. Provides flexible background to highlight start of war, as told through local voices.

Theme Two: IN THE TRENCHES
Description: Presents the horrific experience faced by men and women integrated through the experience of war at the front. Example will be Second Battle of Ypres where Canadian and Sikh troops fought side by side.  Gassed soldiers were treated by BC nurses and it was here that a Canadian doctor wrote "In Flanders Fields."  Sub-story on women in World War I.  Secondary story on BC units integrated into CEF and Canadian military identity created under General Currie at Vimy.
Community Consultation Connections:  Integrates gender into discussion of horrors and sacrifice at war and includes cultural diversity, including Chinese and Sikh contributions made visible to youth. Encourages community to supply local voices.

Theme Three: IN THE AIR, ON THE SEA
Description:  Tells the personal story of Canada's first pilots, in Royal Flying Corps.  Demonstrates one cost of war through the demand for aircraft spruce from our forests.  Presents how the Navy defended BC, using examples like a blind sailor from Nelson who won a VC (using reproduction VC) and how Premier McBride started Canada's submarine service (travel model).
Community Consultation Connections: Provides vignettes through personal experiences and diversity.  Encourages community to supply local stories.  By emphasizing land, sea and air, themes two and three integrate well for legions and similar service venues.

Theme Four: THE WAR AT HOME, 1917
Description:  The impact of war on British Columbian families was transformative.  Includes changes in industry, employment, food, social support for soldiers' families, Red Cross work, Victory gardens, Victory Loans and the 1917 influenza epidemic.  Secondary theme on the 1917 Soldiers' Election resulted in a landmark human rights change: votes for women.  The soldiers' election had at least one unexpected result: temperance.
Community Consultation Connections: Create awareness of how war transformed life in BC, and that the vote for women was connected to the war.

Theme Five: PEACE AT A COST
Description:  Peace came to nations in 1918 but for some, the war continued until 1919. Peace meant the return of veterans, many injured, and communities ill-prepared to deal with the human cost of war.  Peace brought founding of veterans' organizations and services for the injured.  A weak economy provided little employment and created tensions.  This war created our peace movement.
Community Consultation Connections: Makes connections to wider educational discussion of war, peace and contemporary issues such as the diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, disabilities and care for modern veterans.

Theme Six: REMEMBERING THE DEAD
Description: Provides a context for how a community decided to remember, then and now. Examples from 1919 to Vimy Monument 1936, unveiled on the eve of another war and the overseas cemeteries of the War Graves Commission.  Will display past and contemporary ceremonies, from diverse backgrounds, for example,  ex. First Nations remember.
Community Consultation Connections:  Provides a context for local presentations on community memorial ceremonies today and their origins.  Provides an opportunity for the Royal BC Museum's online educational resource, the Learning Portal, to explore how to research family military service and to educate youth on war then and now.

Cases:  Number to be determined.  Suggest one or more empty cases be provided for community use.
Possible themes for the cases and component artifacts and archival materials from the Royal BC Museum collections:
1) Souvenirs of war: brass trench art; souvenir French embroidered handkerchief; postcards.
2) Tools of war: trenching tool, French or German helmet, unit and CEF badges, model aircraft, model submarine; reproduction Victoria Cross. No firearms or munitions.
3) Letters Home: reproduction letters or diaries; munitions plant worker's badge; red cross items made by injured veterans; set of standard medals explaining how to read them; soldier's "penny' given to mother of dead soldier; invitation to opening of Vimy Memorial.

______________________________________________________________________________________________
Kate Kerr      Exhibit Fabrication Specialist  |  Collections, Knowledge and Engagement

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