So much to see and do. Families come back again and again.
SPRING 2014
THIS ISSUE:
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3What’s On 4Staff Chat Connections 5Collection 6Your Visit 7#familyfriendly 8Things To Do
Take a look at what’s coming up
What are they up to?
Recent Acquisitions, Incredible Stories How to find us, how to stay in touch
visiting the museum with kids
Looking for things to do?
AND...
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Oil & Gas stories We want yours!
What our visitors
are saying…
A Remarkable Year – Looking back; going forward
Annual General
Meeting scheduled
More INSIDE!î
Your Museum : with Lorna, E.D. Welcome Back! We’re pleased to re-launch our newsletter with a new look and new features. The MAGnet is designed to connect you with the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery. Each issue will highlight the exciting things happening at the MAG and lots of things to see and do.
2013 was an outstanding year at the MAG. Our new history exhibition, Remarkable Red Deer: Stories from the Heart of the Parkland, opened just one year ago. Visitor response is very positive. In upcoming weeks we will install more artifacts and program activities designed to enhance your museum experience.
We are responding to a younger and more diverse audience. I’m pleased to say that our website will become mobile-friendly in the near future, and soon website visitors will be able to see images and learn more about the some of the wonderful items in our collections.
There are many other changes at the MAG. We’ve said farewell to some retirees and have welcomed new faces to the organization.
lorna.johnson@reddeer.ca
Be sure to visit our website; we know you’ll want to learn more.
It was a We were honoured to have Rev. L. Gaetz’s great-grandchildren attend our March V.I.P. event. (L to R) Carol Turk, Diane Clarke and Sheldon & Verna Code
YEAR! Centennial “Ghost” Interpreters – (L to R) Rev. L. Gaetz (Paul Boultbee); Francis Galbraith (Serge Belliveau); Railway Worker (Paul Sutherland); Hazel Braithwaite (Jenna Goldade); Julietta Sorensen (Amy Wood)
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(L to R) President Torben Andersen, E.D. Lorna Johnson, and Mayor Morris Flewwelling cut the ribbon. Celebrating the opening of Remarkable Red Deer: Stories from the Heart of the Parkland.
interactive table tops in the Club Cafe
A heartfelt thank you to the many individuals – members, businesses and corporate sponsors – who stepped forward and helped us to make our history come to life.
movie selection in the BMO Capitol Theatre
WHAT’S NEXT
By the numbers... square feet Red Deer’s history
months of preparation & 3 months to install
key themes – New Beginnings, Community Spirit, Leaders & Innovators, Red Deer Today
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interactive “story-tellers”
children’s gallery with oodles of toys, dress-ups, books and puppets
Al-Hassan (R), originally from Iraq, now calls Red Deer home.
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A wide variety of hands-on activities make school visits more engaging. Students from Rob Coumont’s Grade 5 Class from St. Patrick’s Community School toured last June.
4,800 24 4
Some 50 individuals have shared their “newcomer” stories with us.
4 5 100 15,407
songs to select on the juke box in the Club Café
visitors between April and December 2013
2,058
children from 50 schools
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The City and surrounding area has grown at an amazing rate over the past 25 years. The economic drivers that have fueled growth in the region are primarily agri-business and the petrochemical industries. In order to tell these stories, we need to do further research. Our community is our best resource. Be sure to check out the Read more on page 4 to see how you can be involved.
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On exhibit May 10th to August 4th Reception & Artist’s Talk: Sunday May 11th, 2:00 to 4:00 pm Inspired by her mother’s wartime story, Tosh has painted individual portraits of each young woman based on original photographs taken on her wedding day. Their stories, of finding and sometimes losing love, represent the leap of faith thousands of women took in order to build lives far from home.
Detail of Rosalind by Bev Tosh
Two exhibits circulated by the TREX Program Developed by the Alberta Society of Artists for the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Traveling Exhibition Program.
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Joane Cardinal-Schubert
Down on the Farm
Joane CardinalSchubert (1942 - 2009) was well known in Alberta and nationally as a visual artist, poet, writer, curator and activist. Her bright colours and Learning from ‘Buffalo Jump’, 1987 // Hand-tinted print Courtesy of the Cardinal-Schubert family beautiful imagery draws the viewer in, revealing provocative subject matter on the themes of race, history and politics in Canada.
Featuring the photographic work of artists David Bowering, Aaron Falkenberg and Dawn Saunders Dahl, the art works in this exhibition not only explore Alberta’s farming community but also investigate the history and art of photography.
May 21 to June 18, 2014
Opening August 2nd Once + Future: Canadian Contemporary Ceramics Featuring some of Canada’s post-emerging ceramic artists. Jason Halley Alwyn O’Brien Amelie Proulx Brendan Tang Alex McLeod 3
June 25 to July 23, 2014
Curated by Shane Golby; organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta for the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program.
Opening August 16th Lucent: Works in Light and Shadow Solo exhibition by Trudy Golley, internationally exhibited, awardwinning ceramic artist, and currently the Head of Ceramics, RDC Visual Arts Department. Image : Silver Spiral Photo: Paul Leathers.
Wheatland, 2008 Pigment print, Aaron Falkenberg Collection of the artist
Opening November 1st Let’s Go Boys! 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the World War I. We’ll tell some of Red Deer’s stories. Image: Private Kendal Miller was killed in action in June 25, 1917. This Memorial Cross, also known as the Silver Cross, was presented to his mother, Mrs. A. Miller.
DRILLING for Oil & Gas Stories Since 1947, the Oil and Gas Service Industry (OGSI) has had a huge economic, social and demographic impact on Red Deer and Central Alberta. With the (OGSI) project we will strive to capture, through face-toface interviews, the personal stories of some of the people that worked in, and others that were affected by, this industry from the 1950s – possibly earlier – to the present. We will do this in a manner that can both captures the “living history” for important Archival purposes and the social and demographic impact this industry has had on Red Deer and Central Alberta. In so doing we will create high quality materials that can be used to share those personal stories in a variety of “public” contexts.
ASK MELANIE Melanie is the preparator at the MAG. This means she is professionally trained in the care and handling of museum objects. She ‘prepares’ objects and art works for exhibit, determines the best method of display, then installs items in the galleries and adjusts the overhead lighting.
A:
is the best way to store Q: What my graduation dress?
The MAG would clean the dress first. We would store it flat, layered in acid-free/buffered tissue inside an acid-free/ligninfree box. The box would be stored in a dark room with 45% relative humidity and 19°C conditions.
At home, we recommend that you find a cool, dry area, away from any heating vents or water hazards. Store the dress in acid-free paper (available from Carr McLean or Amazon), preferably in an acidfree box. Otherwise, a #5 plastic
container/tub, which has a high resistance to heat and acts as a moisture barrier, is an option. Never hang the garment or store in cardboard. Just as important is to include a written record of the dress. Where and when was it purchased? Why is the garment so special? Who was the Grad Date? What else was happening in the world on that date? Without this information, it’s just another dress.
If you have worked in this industry or have been affected by it and would like to share your story please contact Rod Trentham @ the MAG, 403.309.8405 or c: 587.377.5555 or email rod.trentham@reddeer.ca or rodtrentham@shaw.ca
What our visitors are saying... "The photos are amazing! Loved the video interviews especially. Also the variety of art was delicious!" "Our house guests have been enjoying the exhibits for 2 hours now. They range in age from 6 to 72. They have said many complimentary things but I think the length of time we have been here (and they are not finished yet!!) says it all. Thanks!" "The Club Café was awesome! We had so much fun! Very interactive and a great way of sharing information on Red Deer Citizens."
AGM Notice – Tuesday May 27, 2014 The Red Deer & District Museum Society – Annual General Meeting, Tuesday May 27, 2014, starting 7:00 pm. Sanasana, a choir organized through the Central Alberta Refugee Effort (C.A.R.E.) will perform a musical selection after the meeting. Refreshments will be served. Call 403-309-8405 for more information, or visit our website at www.reddeermuseum.com for details. 4
COLLECTION Connections The stories behind the objects The Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery holds over 60,000 items in the collection. Each item tells a very unique story or demonstrates a particular period in Red Deer’s history.
We’re often asked why we don’t have all the artifacts on display all the time. Part of a museum’s role is to display items in a thoughtful way, usually when an object helps to tell about an important event, or feature a specific period in our history.
We also are responsible for the professional care of our collection. All items are kept in climate controlled storage areas. This also means that objects that are sensitive to light can only be on display for short periods of time.
New in the Lord’s Department Store Window Women’s Fashions from the mid-1940s Several dresses, hats, shoes and other items are now on display. We’re proud to feature the garments worn by Dorothy George and Joe Lowis on their wedding day. Dorothy George, a war bride born in Canada, married Joe Lowis on November 2, 1945 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Dorothy arrived in July, 1946 to a rented farm near Lacombe, Alberta. Joe Lowis, 6th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, joined the army in December, 1941, and returned to Canada in 1945. Many thanks to Mr. Joe Lowis for the loan of his military uniform.
Remarkably new!
Dorothy and Joe their wedding day.
Where Were they then?
In the coming weeks we will install several additional objects in the Remarkable Red Deer exhibit. Look for these two gems.
Above: Look for the Arlington Sign, the last one that was on the building before it was demolished in 2009. Left: The notice/advertisement sign was used in the Buffalo Hotel prior to 1968. Donated by Earl & Helga Berry, from Bashaw. 5
Some of you may recognize these two important downtown landmark buildings. One, the Buffalo Hotel, is still on Ross Street. The other, the Arlington Hotel, no longer sits on 51st Avenue. Above, left: Postcard of the Buffalo Hotel, ca. 1960s. Donated by Earl & Helga Berry, Bashaw. Above, right: Red Deer & District Archives, P2829; [Arlington Hotel]; [after 1912].
YOUR Visit Monday – Friday, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm; Weekends: 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Holiday Hours:
Open Family Day & Heritage Day, 12:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Business Hours:
Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
47-A Avenue
$ 10.00 $ 5.00 $ 2.00 $ 2.00 Free
Gaetz Ave.nue
Family Adult Senior (+65) Youth/Student 5 & Under
Galleries Open:
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Admission:
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Daily admission to the Museum includes all exhibitions, programs & activities.
QE II Highway
Bring the family, Bring your friends!
Ross (49) Street
Golden Circle
Free!
45 Street Recreation Centre
32 Street
It’s easy to find us; lots of free parking! The Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery is in the same location as the downtown Recreation Centre and the Golden Circle Seniors Resource Centre. Look for the big orange sign on the front of the building.
Carol Lynn Gilchrist and granddaughter
Plan your own Special Visit. A quick phone call request and we planned a special tour and activities for these young visitors.
Help us save on Postage Costs. \ Send us your email and receive notices twice a month through our MAGnet E-Newsletter. Email museum@reddeer.ca , or visit our website and click on the “Newsletter” to SUBSCRIBE at vwww.reddeermuseum.com.
Did you know that the MAG is a Cultural Access Pass Attraction? The Cultural Access Pass provides new Canadians with the opportunity to visit numerous museums, galleries and cultural places for one year for free. For more details, visit the Institute for Canadian Citizenship – www.icc-icc.ca/en/cap/eligible.php.
Pictured Below: Four friends – Alyssa ,Madelyn, Ava and Annika – just finished reading the book The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. The book was written in 1967 and features many museum adventures.
Keep up to date with MAG Activities! www.reddeermuseum.com fb.com/RedDeerMuseumAndArtGallery @RedDeerMuseum 6
@REDDEERMUSEUM
#FAMILYFRIENDLY 5 Top Reasons to visit the MAG! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Make connections between generations past to the present. Discover more about local neighbourhoods and communities. Develop an understanding of other cultures and traditions. Explore lots of creative ideas and activities. Enjoy a fun, family adventure.
Plan Your Family’s Visit: be prepared & Enjoy! ü Call ahead or visit our website to discover the things you’ll see and do.
ü Don’t expect to see everything in once; explore one or two areas then come back again.
ü Have age-appropriate expectations. An hour
or less is plenty of time for children under six.
ü No food in the galleries please. Bring snacks and plan a break. We have spaces to eat and drink.
ü Use a game to
make the visit more memorable, such as: I Spy – Pick a theme or make a list. Examples: things with wheels, different shapes, or colours of the rainbow. Scavenger Hunt – Make a list of items that your children can look for.
Visit www.reddeermuseum.com for details on upcoming programs.
What do the Koi say? Meet Don Juan, the koi fish, not the other one. He is our Bekko koi and can be identified by his large white head, pale orange back and a black patch before his dorsal fin. His pale orange colour symbolizes wealth and prosperity. Don Juan leads an uncomplicated carp’s life. Simple needs – eat twice daily and swim in a clean pond. He says, “People germs aren’t healthy for fish, and fish germs aren’t healthy for people.” Have a koi question for the next newsletter? Email us at museum@reddeer.ca. 7
(bubble, bubble, bubble)
Things TO DO...AllSUmmerLong Saturdays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm We supply the artist, inspiration and materials, you supply your imagination!
May 17 May 24 May 31 June 7 June 14 June 21 June 28 July 5 July 12 July 19 July 26
Tosh,Tea and Tours
A Mug for Money Making Multiples Mega-Sized Paintings
Join us for a guided tour of Bev Tosh - War Brides: One-way Passage, and stay for refreshments in the Club Café.
Sketching Still Life Fishing Tackle for Fathers Art-ifying the Outdoors Let’s Hear it for Canada! Concrete Jungle Gurgle, Gurgle, Pop! Old McDonald Had a Farm, P-A-I-N-T!
Two Wednesdays to choose from – May 14th or June 25th, beginning at 1:15 pm.
Detail of Anne, by Bev Tosh
Let your Fun Flag Fly!
Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
S t r e t c h y o u r i m a g i nat i o n
Express yourself in creative ways! • Accessible to Everyone • Peaceful studio space • Great place to make friends
May 5 - 16 May 20 - 30 June 9 - 27 July 7 - Aug 1
Printmaking Sculpture Art Styles Paint, Pastels & Drawing
“Best kept secret in Red Deer.”
F U S I O N T h u r s day s @ t h e M A G See objects from the Museum’s collections
– Doreen, Sunrise Residential Services
Bring your friends or meet new ones
Drop in $3.00 per person/class Memberships available to persons with disabilities - $50/year
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4525 - 47A Avenue Red Deer, AB T4N 6Z6 museum@reddeer.ca Phone: 403.309.8405 Fax: 403.342.6644
3rd
Create some art, play crazy games, stretch your imagination Thursday Is Included with Admission.
www.reddeermuseum.com fb.com/RedDeerMuseumAndArtGallery @RedDeerMuseum
The Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery is grateful to the City of Red Deer and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts for their financial support.