VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM STRATEGIC PLAN
overview An overview of what is discussed within this document.
value of a maritime museum Ways in which the VMM contributes to the local community.
part I | Curatorial New developments within our Curatorial Deptartment.
part II | facilities Details of recent business and spacial excersizes.
part III | Exhibits & Programming
part IV | organization
New suite of exciting, educational and relevant programming platforms.
The right people with the right skills doing the right jobs at the right time.
conclusion
In order to be successful in these challenging times the VMM must be nimble, efficient and effective with delivery of the museum product.
OVERVIEW in 2015 the city of Vancouver set an ambitious goal for the Vancouver Maritime Museum (VMM) to advance creative, relevant and entertaining exhibitions while ensuring institutional sustainability. it also required the highest level of curatorial excellence be advanced and embraced to nurture, interpret and care for the expansive city of Vancouver collection held in trust by the VMM.
The Vancouver Maritime Museum needed to critically assess how it plans, invests in, and promotes the Maritime Museum “concept” throughout the city, province and abroad. At the same time, we know that ours is a world in transition. The changes around us bring different technologies and opportunities to engage individuals, corporations and government entities. The discovery of the HMS Erebus in 2014 energized the story of the Northwest Passage, Canadian exploration and excited the country. The Vancouver Maritime Museum capitalized on this to attract new partners, and build diverse, mutually beneficial partnerships. We know that the coming years will provide some real challenges, including a shifting demographic, an aging population, and significantly more market pressures. The Vancouver Maritime Museum is committed to become a Maritime Museum of choice for visitors, academics and scholars. Many different factors—Curatorial, Facilities, Exhibitions/Programming and Organization— have been embraced and expanded on within this document.
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This strategic plan presents the VMM’s vision and strategic plan for the future. It is a result of planning sessions, meetings, consultation, discussions, environmental scanning and debate, while seriously looking at the coming challenges and opportunities, to determine the priorities for action. This plan will guide the long-term direction (2015-2020) of the VMM and will provide the framework for more detailed capital plans, business plans, and budgets to follow. The vision, mission, and renewed priorities presented in this plan outline the VMM’s commitment to developing our own self-reliance and long-term viability as well as working with our employees, customers, and partners to create a professional museum offering a world class museum experience. Above all, this plan describes how we intend to help connect people and communities with our facility to promote a more sustainable future.
VALUE OF MARITIME MUSEUMS It is more than fifty years since the emergence of the Vancouver Maritime Museum and since that time, we have become an essential part of the public realm not only because we contribute to education, citizenship and other government (municipal, provincial and federal) objectives but also because we have a long term social function and responsibility. The VMM brings local people together; all kinds of communities into contact with each other; and we care for and curate local, regional, national and international maritime collections, that bring meaning, context and consistency to our cultural and community life.
vmm. leonard mcCann arChives. parKs Canada ColleCtion.
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PART I | Curatorial The VMM has begun and will continue to evolve a new standard of curatorial excellence. Our curator(s) will carry the highest academic accreditation, work with an established Academic Curatorial Scholars Board and trained technicians to educate, inform and engage our visitors.
The Curatorial offices needs to not only safeguard the collection but to invest their knowledge on many levels to share the museum story with a diverse and educated audience. The curator provides the link to connect the visitors with the story and the institution.
1. CURATOR | VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM
Duncan Macleod, curator Appointed June 2015 Duncan MacLeod is a graduate of the University of British Columbia where he earned an Honours undergraduate degree in Classical Art, History and Languages. During his degree he worked at the Labs of Archaeology at the Museum of Anthropology, helping prepare collections for the Reciprocal Research Network online database. In 2012 Duncan received a Master’s degree in Classical Archaeology from the University of Oxford. Before coming to the Vancouver Maritime Museum he worked as a collections and research associate at the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Simon Fraser University.
CURATORIAL SCHOLARS BOARD The role of the Curatorial Scholars Board is to provide assistance to the VMM on matters of curatorial techniques, interpretation and historic relevance as needed.
Dr. Hector Williams
Dr. Williams is a past President of the VMM Board of Trustees and has been a member since 1990. He is is professor of classical archaeology at the University of British Columbia where he has been a faculty member since 1970. He directs UBC’s archaeological excavations at the ancient cities of Mytilene (Lesbos island) and Stymphalos (Arcadia) and has done extensive work in maritime archaeology both in the Mediterranean and the North Pacific.
Dr. James Delgado
Dr. Delgado is a maritime archaeologist, explorer and author who has worked all over the world. He hosted The Sea Hunters, the popular National Geographic TV show, for 5 years and worked as the Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum for 15 years. His book, Across the Top of the World: the Quest for the Northwest Passage was an international bestseller published both in North America and Britain.
Dr. Robyn Woodward
Dr. Woodward, is an adjunct professor of archaelogy at SFU. She is also a trustee and governor of the Vancouver Maritime Museum and the vicepresident of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. Lecturing on enrichment cruises in Europe and the Caribbean since 1996 has fueled Robyn Woodward’s passion for adventure, art and archaeology. In between degrees, she has worked as an underwater archaeologist at the pirate city of Port Royal, Jamaica.
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PART I | Curatorial 2. CLEAN ROOM The VMM will acquire a “clean room” work site within an adjacent storage facility at Vanier Park. The “clean room” has been funded by Canadian Heritage and installation will begin in the fall of 2015. This facility will be available to other institutions requiring access to a clean space to address artifacts, condition and cleanliness.
3. REVIEW OF OUR COLLECTION & ARCHIVES A review of the VMM collection is well underway. It includes, but is not limited to: a) Traditional historic artifacts, b) Ship Models, c) Library and Archives Recommendations for deaccessioning items (following the revamped collection policy suite), itemizing/recording items in a recently acquired museum data storage server, assessing condition, relevance, and context will be an ongoing project for the curatorial team. This process has begun and will continue for a number of years.
4. ACTIONS FROM INTERPRETIVE & DIGITIZATION PLANS The recently completed Interpretative Plan (recommendations) and a Digitization Plan (which can be accessed online here: http://ow.ly/SRe5o) will be referenced and acted upon as planning, funding, capacity and opportunity arises. in short these plans call for: A) DIGITIZATION OF THE 100,000 PLUS IMAGES HELD AT THE VMM ARCHIVES
ITEM NO. HSFR-30-12
vmm. leonard mcCann arChives. parKs Canada ColleCtion.
B) REWORK OF THE ST. ROCH EXHIBITION AREA & AMBIENT LIGHT SITUATION (SEE FACILITIES), images by stanteC arChiteCture ltd.
ENCLOSURE ENCLOSURE
MEETING ROOM WEST-COAST RAIN FOREST GALLERIA
LEVEL CHANGE & BALESTRADE
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PART I | Curatorial C) RENOVATIONS OF THE CHILDREN’S MARITIME DISCOVERY CENTRE (CMDC), AND
sKetChes & images below by dan sawatzKy & imagination Corporation
D) CONSIDERATION FOR THE HERITAGE HARBOUR AS WELL AS INSTALLATION OF A LIGHTHOUSE EXHIBIT IN FRONT OF THE VMM.
Floating Structure
Lighthouse
Compass landscaping of ‘North-West’ Lawn
New Library Addition
images by stanteC arChiteCture ltd.
ALONG WITH THIS ESTABLISHMENT OF A PERMANENT GALLERY RELATED TO THE RECENT SIGNIFICANT DONATIONS (SESSION FAMILY) OF ARCTIC, SIR JOHN FRANKLIN MATERIAL RECORDS AND EPHEMERA.
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PART I | Curatorial
5. RELOCATION OF THE BEN FRANKLIN & BEAVER BOILER Relocation of both the Ben Franklin and the boiler from the Beaver to a site, location and area which permits appropriate interpretation, provides significant ROI, and better tells the unique maritime stories of these two significant artifacts. vmm. leonard mCCann arChives. ben franKlin/px-15 ColleCtion
Proposed Site for Lookout Deck and Interpretive Node for relocated SS Beaver Boiler
images from lees+assoCiates
6. DISPLAY CASES The VMM has and will continue, to dispose of inadequate, substandard or inappropriate display cases and replace with commercially built appropriate display cases with, as required, atmospheric consideration. This process has begun and will continue as time, capacity and resources permit.
7. DIGITALLY PRESERVING THE ST. ROCH Working with CyArk 500 and Absolute Space the entire St Roch exterior will be digitized and rendered into a digital format. The digital DNA of the St Roch will be available online for scholars, curators, educators, and public access viewing. As well, a complete digital record of the St Roch will be securely stored digitally in perpetuity.
digital sCan of st. roCh from absolute spaCe engineering
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PART II | faCilities The Vancouver Maritime Museum has recently compiled a series of business and spatial exercises including, but limited to:
• • • • • • • • • • image by stanteC arChiteCture ltd.
spatial needs analysis, Environmental scan, Business Plan (low level KPi’s for staff), security Plan, sWoT, Planning session with VMM Board and other Vanier Park facilities, interpretation plan, Risk analysis Digitation plan, and special design plan proposals.
The VMM will consider these plans and amalgamate them into a Master Facility Plan. Funding for the completion of a Master Facilities Plan has been recommended by the City of Vancouver - as such we anticipate beginning this final process shortly. It is anticipated that this plan will ratify previous concepts and ideas to mitigate high risk areas (Library & Archives and ambient light in the St. Roch shelter) and take advantage of the 2017 (150 anniversary of Confederation) funding window.
images by Stantec Architecture Ltd.
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PART III | exhibits & programs The VMM has launched a suite of exciting, educational and relevant programming platforms.
1. INTERACTIVE EXHIBITS & PROGRAMMING This has included a high arctic Vessel Simulator, an interactive touch-table and Anthony of the Arctic. The simulator (a joint effort with the Centre for Digital Media) emulates steering the St Roch through the treacherous and ice choked Bellot Straits.
team of Centre for digital media students who built the simulator and touCh table
prototype of anthony of the arCtiC
The touch table allows for visitors to explore the St Roch via a CGI interface. Both these fixtures will be installed during the summer of 2015 and evolved/expanded over the coming years. Anthony of the Arctic is a room size interactive platform currently under development at the Centre for Digital Media. Work with Anthony to explore a water world and find sunken treasure!
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PART III | exhibits & programs 2. FLOATING MUSEUM The VMM has developed a Pop-up museum exhibition concept. The first of these (Across The Top of The World) will be travelling onboard Arctic and Antarctic cruise ships in a strategic partnership with One Ocean Expeditions. The year long pop-up will be loaded in August of 2015 on the first cruise ship.
3. EXTREME EXPLORERS Complimenting this exhibition staff will complete an Extreme Explorers program intended to support our children’s programming as well as present material suitable for adults and mature audiences. Cruise ship passengers will actually be able to be hands on with specific artifacts and assist onboard VMM staff with research and recording of findings. Two VMM staff will be travelling in 2015 and two in 2016 as well.
4. ON-WATER EDUCATION PROGRAMS The VMM has dramatically expanded its on-water educational programs as they relate to Vancouver. Working with industry partners the VMM will continue to expand the on water and remote site programs. These are successful with joint industry support as well as the Port of Vancouver.
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PART III | exhibits & programs 5. REIMAGINING EXHIBITS
Re-working, redesigning and reimagining of the St. Roch area and the Children’s Maritime Development Centre has been achieved through the help of Haley Sharpe Design and the Imagination Corporation. Completion of these re-designs are funding dependant.
image by haley sharpe design
image by haley sharpe design
image by imagination Corporation
6. FUTURE EXHIBITS
Future exhibitions are under active discussions but will include, but not limited to the following: a. b. c. d. e. f. g.
Treatment (internment) of Japanese & the seizure of their fishing eets of 1940, Boat building on the BC Coast, Captain Vancouver and the links with Chile, Monsters and Mermaids, The Hudson Bay company & trading enterprises on the Coast Zheng He and the Treasure Ships, and Asian Immigration via the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver.
The TK Gallery will continue to revolve transient art displays every 3 months. The exhibitions feature strategic partnerships with artists, schools, other assorted entities and the community. Future TK Gallery exhibits may include, but will not be limited to the following: a. b. c. d. e. f. g.
Harbour Art, Watershed: Artwork by Tracy McMenemy, Arctic Encounters: A photographic journey into Canada’s northern Communities, Come Sail With Me, Lighthouses: Lonely Guards of the Sea, Birds Eye View, and Sailing Into History.
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PART IV | organization Building on a formal professional workplace report the VMM has positioned itself to ensure long term stability and viability.
1. STAFFING Staff and Board of Directors with the appropriate KSA’s, academic credentials, motivation, interest and imagination have been aggressively recruited and tasked. Ongoing training and development will be a cornerstone of the VMM HR platform. The right people with the right skills doing the right jobs at the right time.
ORGANISATIONAL CHART
2. VOLUNTEERS An aggressive recruitment of a culturally diverse volunteer pool has begun and this effort will be sustained for the foreseeable future.
3. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Peter G Bernard, QC Tom Beasley Donna Spalding David Dungey Hector Williams, PhD Robert Allan Evangeline Englezos Peter Fox Peter M German Colleen Hardwick Mike LoVecchio Anthony Sessions Captain Phill Nelson Robyn Woodward
President Vice President secretary Treasurer Past President
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vmm. leonard mCCann arChives. parKs Canada st. roCh ColleCtion. hsmo_40_09
In order to be successful in these challenging times the VMM must be nimble, efficient and effective with delivery of the museum product. New technologies must be engaged and presented with attention to detail, accuracy and entertainment value. Old paradigms of what a museum does and how it relates to the community need to be assessed, walls torn down and the story presented. More of the museum exhibits will become versatile travelling pop-up style or commercially marketable to other institutions. Staff are re-entering the field to search out the stories and artifacts that build our common history, community and society. Each of these plans or concepts will need resources, partnerships, commitment and support to achieve. But they are achievable. The goal will be to have these plans fully realized by 2020. the vancouver maritime museum
1905 Ogden Avenue, Vancouver, BC | 604-257-8300 www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com | @vanmaritime all images by vanCouver maritime museum unless otherwise stated
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