There will be lots of time when visitors need or want to sit in your museum. Or your neighbourhood. Why not make that an experience in and of itself? It can be as complex as building a custom theatre for your exhibition… …or as simple as using the right materials and ensuring those taking aContinue reading “Steal This idea: Sitting with Meaning”
Tag Archives: Heritage
Clio’s Armada: Indonesian “Phinisi” and the Fyrstyx Legacy
Expo ’86 is not something in my own memory, although I was alive and only a dozen hours from Vancouver at the time. Strangely, despite often driving to visit relatives on Vancouver Island, my family didn’t go. Instead I formed connections with it through my work on Fort Edmonton park’s York Boat project (soon toContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Indonesian “Phinisi” and the Fyrstyx Legacy”
Clio’s Armada: Fraser River Flat-Bottomed Skiffs and Britannia Shipyards Nat’l Historic Site
In the 1990s, the Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site Society built two replicas of the Fraser River flat-bottomed skiff. These craft fished the Fraser River in what is now British Columbia in the 1870s and 1880s before being replaced by round-bottomed boats. They could be maneuvered by oars as well as sprit-sails in favourable weather.Continue reading “Clio’s Armada: Fraser River Flat-Bottomed Skiffs and Britannia Shipyards Nat’l Historic Site”
Steal this Idea: Empty Cases
Museums generally organise their stories around objects. But what to do when you don’t – or shouldn’t -have an object? Sometimes drawing attention to the lack of a material history can be just as effective. Steal This Idea is a new series of blog posts designed to promote some of the best heritage practices thatContinue reading “Steal this Idea: Empty Cases”
Clio’s Armada: Mi’kmaq birch bark canoes and Todd Labrador
Two of my longed for Canadian pilgrimages (besides York Factory NHS!) is the Canadian Canoe Museum and Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site. The former because its obvious connection to my passions of fur trade history and boat history, and the latter because of how much they value Indigenous interpretation and crafts. And thatContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Mi’kmaq birch bark canoes and Todd Labrador”
Clio’s Armada: The Endeavour and the Australian National Maritime Museum
I was lucky enough to visit Sydney last year (2023) and even more lucky to experience the Australian National Maritime Museum (stupendous) and its exhibit of the replica (or simulacrum, if you prefer) of His Majesty’s Barque, Endeavour, the famous ship of Captain Cook. It was a stunning exhibition and the volunteer tour guide wasContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: The Endeavour and the Australian National Maritime Museum”
Clio’s Armada: The Dehcho Moosehide Boat and the Nahanni River
At the time of the build, a moosehide boat hadn’t been seen on the Nahanni in over a hundred years. The trade was not entirely lost, but the Dehcho First Nations were looking for a project that would share those skills and commemorate their past. Herb Norwegian was the visionary behind the project, but hisContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: The Dehcho Moosehide Boat and the Nahanni River”
Clio’s Armada: The Golden Hinde in London
There are not many places in the world where a full-sized galleon replica can survive (and even thrive) as a museum ship. The Golden Hinde replica is that ship and London is that place. Many ordinary citizens, let alone history enthusiasts, don’t need to be told who Sir Francis Drake was (athough they might notContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: The Golden Hinde in London”
Clio’s Armada: Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society
I’ve tried hard to devote serious attention in this blog to Indigenous boatbuilding and replica craft. And honestly, it hasn’t been difficult. Maritime Indigenous nations around the world have been using heritage boatbuilding as a celebration, as a chance to share skills, and sometimes to rediscover lost or endangered arts. One of the stellar examplesContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Hōkūleʻa and the Polynesian Voyaging Society”
Clio’s Armada: The R. Tucker Thompson and Sail Training for Youth
In 2023 I got to co-create and install an exhibition on the R. Tucker Thompson, which I wanted to call “Dreamwrights” (!) but was eventually convinced to title “Tall Ship, Big Dreams: The Story of the R. Tucker Thompson”. Not only was the exhibition a labour of love, but it was also the satisfactory conclusionContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: The R. Tucker Thompson and Sail Training for Youth”
