Guelph Circa 1999
2020-03-14 - 2021-04-18 | Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
Like entering a time capsule, visitors will discover Guelph of 20 years ago. Told through the stories of the people who spent time at The Bookshelf, a cultural hub in this city since 1973.
Downtown Guelph in the late 1990s was vibrant, brimming with entrepreneurship, and teeming with energy. Barb and Doug Minett were the owner-operators of The Bookshelf, a cultural hub in downtown Guelph since 1973. They had the idea to capture Guelph’s unique social environment through a portrait series. Their concept was inspired by an exhibition they had seen in Toronto, a salon-style installation of black-and-white portraits by German photographer August Sander (1876–1964). They commissioned Guelph photographer Dean Palmer.
Barb, Doug, and Dean compiled a list of more than 100 downtown personalities, local business owners, and people who were shaping Guelph’s cultural community. They called the project The Greenroom Series, after the dining space adjacent to the eBar, where the portraits were exhibited. The title also alludes to the “green room” in theatre where performers can relax when they are not performing. The completed series featured 16 portraits of people photographed in their natural environments.
Featuring portraits of Andy the Barber, Ian Findlay, Jaqueline Gilbey, Diego Hadarits, Ajay Heble, Tom King, Grant Love, Mark McAlpine, Fred Mollison, Harri Palm and Molly Kurvink, Fredericka Potvin, Ryan Price, Joan Rentoul, Tannis Slimmon, Emma Smith, and Jessica Steinhauser.
The Greenroom Series was donated to Guelph Museums’ permanent collection in 2018. This exhibition represents the series in its entirety, encapsulating Guelph on the cusp of the new millennium.

Related Events:

History Bites: Guelph Circa 1999
Guelph Museums curator Dawn Owen chats about Guelph Circa 1999 with special guests Ajay Heble, Dean Palmer, Ian Findlay, Jessica Steinhauser, and Mark McAlpine. Watch guests compete in a 90s trivia challenge, as they reflect on the cultural life of Guelph in the 1990s.

Lay of the Land
2020-03-14 10:00 - 2021-02-28 17:00 (America/Toronto) | Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
You are here! This interactive exhibition will orient visitors in time and place through an installation of maps, spanning time immemorial to present day. Lay of the Land invites all visitors to understand our complex relationship to the land, past and present, and to the place that we now call Guelph.
Cartography is the art, science, and technology of making maps, plans, charts, and globes. The earliest surviving map, drawn on a clay tablet found in the Middle East, dates to 2300 BCE. The earlier known maps of Canada were created by European explorers, seeking to find and secure trade routes to the Asian continent. Dated from about 1502 to 1506, those maps depict the east coast of Newfoundland as an island in the North Atlantic.
Mapmaking was a well-developed practice among Indigenous peoples in what is now Canada. Indigenous navigational maps were drawn on impermanent materials, accompanied by verbal descriptions and committed to memory. Lakes, rivers, and shorelines on most Indigenous maps differ from modern survey maps. Scale, however, was often measured by time (such as a day’s journey) and landmarks were accentuated to aid travellers.
“Lay of the land” is a turn of phrase. It is a reference to the arrangement of features on the land, as well as a metaphor for the current state of affairs. The exhibition, Lay of the Land, employs both meanings in recognition of our unique connections to places we call home.
Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada
The exhibition features the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (IPAC) floor map. It is on loan from Kids Can Press, Canadian Geographic and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS).
The IPAC floor map is a resource that can assist our understanding of the past, present and future of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. It represents a diversity of stories and voices. The RCGS worked with Indigenous and ally educators and with organizations across Canada to create the map.
Visit Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada for more information about the map and for learning activities.

Related Events:

History Bites: Lay of the Land
Wednesday, February 17, 12 p.m.
Facebook Live
Guelph Museums curator Dawn Owen will be chatting about current exhibit, Lay of the Land. The exhibition orients visitors in time and place through an installation of maps, spanning time immemorial to present day. Lay of the Land invites all visitors to understand our complex relationship to the land, past and present, and to the place that we now call Guelph.

Her Story: Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County
2020-09-15 - 2021-07-25 | Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
In fall 2019, the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) approached Guelph Museums about an exhibition that would mark the 75th anniversary of CFUW Guelph. Through the stories of local women, who fought for the advancement of the status of women, the exhibition began to take shape. The goal was to write the history of Her Story and to share women’s legacies in Guelph, past and present.
Then, in March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the temporary closure of Guelph Museums. What began as a display in the museum became a major research project and a virtual exhibition.
CFUW Guelph sought a partnership with the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute and the College of Arts at the University of Guelph. Under the guidance of Professor Catherine Carstairs, nine students undertook the research and writing and the Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory agreed to host the virtual exhibition.
Her Story: Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County celebrates women who have led the way towards a diverse and gender inclusive community. The project aimed to share the stories of cisgender women, trans women, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming people. We recognize the historical barriers faced by all women. We acknowledge that Black, Indigenous and People of Colour and LGBTQ2IA+ women have faced and continue to face even greater barriers.
The featured trailblazers are activists, artists, caregivers, health care workers, mothers, politicians, scientists, and writers, as well as women-led organizations. We celebrate their accomplishments. They show us that change is possible.
Her Story: Women Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County Virtual Exhibition
Featured Trailblazers
Tito Alawode, Kim Anderson, Parvathi Basrur, Lois Betteridge, Norma Bowen, Deanna Clatworthy, Amy Ellard-Gray, Karen Farbridge, Anne Godfrey, Adelaide Hoodless, Gwen Jacob, Suzy Lake, Jean Little, Marisse Scott, Shakiba Shayani, Jan Sherman, Audny-Cashae Stewart, Gayle Valeriote, Marva Wisdom, and Anne-Marie Zajdlik
Trailblazing Organizations
Canadian Federation of University Women – Guelph, Chalmers Community Services, Guelph-Wellington Women In Crisis, The Suffrage Movement in Guelph and Wellington County, and Zonta Club of Guelph
Student Researchers
Tanesha Black, Julia Cole, Shelby Mawson, Sofia Mayer, Emma Ongman, Brittany Pompilii, Anne Sanatagi, Nicole Scott, and Katrina Stephany
Acknowledgements
The project benefitted from the invaluable guidance of Susan Brown, Kim Martin, Mihaela Ilovan, and Thomas Smith of the Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory. CFUW Guelph, through Isobel Boyle, Mary McEwen and Teresa McKeeman, provided inspiration and key support. Many historians shared their research in women’s history and the history of Guelph. Thank you to Heidi Bohaker, Christine Bold, Vicki Hodgkinson, Franca Iacovetta, Kris Inwood, Melissa McAfee, and Alison Norman. Trailblazers were nominated by Denise Francis of the Guelph Black Heritage Society, Sarah Dermer at Chalmers Community Services, and Amanda Derksen at the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, as well as by individuals from across the region.
Project Partners

Related Events:

History Bites – Her Story: Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County
Wednesday, October 21, 12 to 1 p.m. | ONLINE
Join us Guelph Museums’ curator Dawn Owen for an online series of bite-sized conversations inspired by current exhibitions and stories from the collection. Register through Eventbrite.

Resonance: Guelph Chamber Choir at 40
2020-10-27 - 2021-09-05 | Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
Experience the soul-stirring sounds of Guelph’s premier chamber choir through 40 years of recording and performance history. This exhibition shares the stories of the people whose lives have been touched by their involvement with choral music since 1980 and sets the stage for the next 40 years of Guelph Chamber Choir.
Resonance: Guelph Chamber Choir at 40 Virtual Exhibition

Fred Hallett and The Sewing Machine Factory
2021-02-16 - 2021-08-08 | Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
Alfred “Fred” Thomas Hallett was born in October 1863 in Lewisham, Kent, England – over 150 years ago! His parents, William and Eliza, moved their family to Canada in May 1869, when Fred was six years old. He had seven siblings: William, Henry, John, Elizabeth, Esther, Charles, and Arthur.
The Hallett family settled in Guelph. At the age of twelve, Fred left school to work at Raymond’s Sewing Machine Company. He operated a machine called a gear cutter.
On February 3, 1879, Fred’s hand was caught in the gear cutter. He tried to pull free, but he lost his arm in the accident. Fred recovered from his injury and returned to work at Raymond’s Factory. He became a wheel turner, a task that he could do with one arm.
Fred lived in Guelph until 1891. When he was 28 years old, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, USA. He got married a year later. Fred and his wife Emily had four children: Hazel, Alfred, William, and Anna. Their descendants continue to live in Upper State New York, USA.
Fred’s story is a permanent fixture of the Families Gallery but this display featuring Fred Hallett, Raymond Sewing Machine Factory and child labour in 19th century Guelph extends beyond the gallery to the second floor, opposite from the elevator.
Thanks to local historian Bonnie Durtnall, Labouring All Our Lives, who discovered Fred Hallett’s story. Her research contributed greatly to this display.
Portrait of Alfred “Fred” Hallett, Courtesy of Tom Large.

Memory Cycle: Re-Sonified Artifacts
2021-03-13 - 2022-04-17 | Guelph Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
Memory Cycle: Re-Sonified Artifacts is a collaboration between Guelph Civic Museum and musician Gordon Monahan. This exhibition is a foray into the parlour rooms of Victorian Guelph and an experiment with Victorian-era piano recordings.
Working with the museum, Monahan selected 19th-century artifacts from the permanent collection. Using furniture, farm equipment, and keyboard instruments, Monahan experiments with period sound by transmitting vibrations through the artifacts.
Visitors to the exhibition hear sounds once emitted by the instruments on display. In a process called sonification (and re-sonification), Monahan works with the principle that vibration is perceived by the human ear as sound. The artifacts become sounding objects — transmitters of recorded sound — as well as sound sculptures.
The sound installation in the midst of a Victorian-era parlour room offers a ghostly rendition of music that once vibrated through the displayed artifacts. Like memory, the circulation (and re-circulation) of sound calls forth the music and history of times past.

Installation View

Sound Transducer on Victorian Crib

Hear a conversation about Memory Cycle with Guelph Museums’ Curator Dawn Owen, Jesse Stewart, and artist Gordon Monahan:

Memory Cycle was researched, developed and presented by Gordon Monahan with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

History Bites: From Farmland Irrigation to Martian Exploration - 125 Years of Physics in Guelph
2021-03-17 | ONLINE
History Bites is a monthly series of bite-sized conversations inspired by current exhibitions and stories from the collection. Visitor Experiences Assistant Anna Patterson chats with Dr. Joanne O’Meara and Orbax from the Physics Department at the University of Guelph about their upcoming exhibit at the Civic Museum – “From Farmland Irrigation to Martian Exploration: 125 Years of Physics in Guelph”.

Did you miss the live event? Watch the History Bites: From Farmland Irrigation to Martian Exploration recording below:

From Farmland Irrigation to Martian Exploration: 125 Years of Physics in Guelph
2021-03-23 - 2021-10-31 | Guelph Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
“I believe the scientific farmer is going to be the farmer of the future. […] If farming is to be made a success in this country, it has to be done on a scientific basis.”
— J.B. Reynolds (1867-1948)
With that pronouncement in 1895, the Department of Physics was born at the newly formed Ontario Agricultural College (est. 1874). Since then, the Department of Physics at the University of Guelph has grown to become one of the most respected in Canada. With a rich history of research and a strong commitment to innovation in teaching, Guelph Physics has come a long way since its agrarian roots.

CFRU: 40 Years on the FM Dial
2021-03-23 - 2021-10-31 | Guelph Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
CFRU Radio & Media Centre celebrates 40+ years of broadcasting the voices of Guelph’s campus and community at 93.3 FM. Featuring interactive audio and visual links, artifacts, and ephemera pulled from reel-to-reel archives, poster bins, cassette collections, and the reminiscences of CFRU alumni. This display guides viewers through the eclectic, creative, social-justice-promoting, funny, and wild story of this beloved local outlet.

Military Lecture - Hidden Scars: Uncovering the Lived Experience of Shell-Shocked Ex-Servicemen
2021-03-25 | ONLINE
Electric Heat Cabinet – Military Hospital Commission – Cobourg, Ontario

Heather Ellis presents, Hidden Scars: Uncovering the Lived Experience of Shell-Shocked Ex-Servicemen.
1918 marked the end of the First World War, but for returning soldiers it was the beginning of adjustment, recovery and, in some cases, collapse. The transition from war to peace was especially difficult for those diagnosed with a psychological illness. ‘Shell shock’ has become synonymous with the Great War and frequently appears in the history, literature, and film of the conflict. While these studies highlight the emotional turmoil and hardship faced by soldiers, they often obscure the reality of war neurosis.
Ellis’ talk highlights the post-war lives of shell-shocked ex-servicemen and their families through their disability pension applications. It explores the challenges families faced when veterans were hospitalized for extended periods of time and demonstrates the power struggle between pension officials, physicians, veterans, and their family members.
Offered in partnership with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies.

About Heather Ellis:
Heather Ellis is a PhD Candidate at Western University under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Vance. Her dissertation focuses on the impact war neurosis had on veterans and their families. She is particularly interested in the ways in which veterans constructed their mental illnesses and their negotiations with the Canadian state in disability applications.

Did you miss the live event? Watch the recording of Military Lecture: Hidden Scars below:

Mission STEMpossible: Rocket Science with Creative Encounters
2021-04-12 | ONLINE
Celebrate Spring Break with safe-at-home science activities and adventures. Mission: STEMpossible videos released daily from April 12 to 16 at 11 am on Facebook, YouTube and our Museum Everywhere page.
Make your own bottle rocket.
ADULT SUPERVISION REQUIRED.

Presented in partnership with:

Mission STEMpossible: OAC Science Challenges
2021-04-13 | ONLINE
Celebrate Spring Break with safe-at-home science activities and adventures. Mission: STEMpossible videos released daily from April 12 to 16 at 11 am on Facebook, YouTube and our Museum Everywhere page.
Get your hands dirty making your own soil globe.

Soil Globe Worksheet
Discover the real cost of food.

Real Cost of Food Worksheet
Take a closer look at your landscape.

Looking at Landscapes Worksheet
Break down bread.

Bread Breakdown Worksheet
Get outside for a biodiversity adventure.

Biodiversity Worksheet
Presented in partnership with:

Mission STEMpossible: Birding with Wild Ontario
2021-04-14 | ONLINE
Celebrate Spring Break with safe-at-home science activities and adventures. Mission: STEMpossible videos released daily from April 12 to 16 at 11 am on Facebook, YouTube and our Museum Everywhere page.
Birding for science. Science for birding.

Mission STEMpossible Birding Challenge
Mission STEMpossible Birding Resources

Presented in partnership with:

Mission STEMpossible: DIY water filtration with Let's Talk Science
2021-04-15 | ONLINE
Celebrate Spring Break with safe-at-home science activities and adventures. Mission: STEMpossible videos released daily from April 12 to 16 at 11 am on Facebook, YouTube and our Museum Everywhere page.
Make your own water filter.

Presented in partnership with:

Mission STEMpossible: ID trees with Nature Guelph
2021-04-16 | ONLINE
Celebrate Spring Break with safe-at-home science activities and adventures. Mission: STEMpossible videos released daily from April 12 to 16 at 11 am on Facebook, YouTube and our Museum Everywhere page.
What tree could this be?

Tree ID Field Guide
Presented in partnership with:

History Bites: Memory Cycle, Resonified Artifacts
2021-04-21 | ONLINE
History Bites is a monthly series of bite-sized conversations inspired by current exhibitions and stories from the collection. In this episode, Guelph Museums curator Dawn Owen chats about the exhibition Memory Cycle: Re-Sonified Artifacts, with special guests Gordon Monahan and Jesse Stewart.

Did you miss the live event? Watch the recording of History Bites – Memory Cycle: Resonified Artifacts below:

Military Lecture - The Great Sickness of 1740: War, Typhus, and the Royal Navy
2021-04-22 | ONLINE
The Capture of Puerto Bello, 21 November 1739 by George Chambers, Senior, 1836, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich BHC0355

Paul Mansell presents, The Great Sickness of 1740: War, Typhus, and the Royal Navy.
In 1739, after two and a half decades of relative peace, Spain and Britain entered into the War of Jenkins’ Ear (1739-48). This war became subsumed into the War of Austrian Succession 1740-48) and has not received a lot of attention from historians. The Royal Navy had been actively recruiting seaman since the spring of 1739 and hostilities broke out in the summer. The navy found it had an unexplained shortage of active personnel despite doubling the number of seamen. Ships were not ready, military operations were delayed, and Walpole’s government demanded answers for the disarray. What stymied the navy was an alarming number of ill seamen and the cases mounted all through 1740. Sick quarters in several parts of Britain were completely overwhelmed by virulent epidemic typhus known as the “Great Sickness.”
Typhus was an unsolvable problem for 18th century medicine, being a contagion that caused record levels of mortality without any hope of a cure. The epidemic is largely forgotten now, but by the end of 1742 it became the worst typhus epidemic of the century after it spread from the naval towns to the rest of Britain. The navy’s response to the outbreak is instructive because it demonstrates both the pitfalls of not responding adequately at the outset of a crisis and the successes of coordinated and targeted measures of prevention that remain effective today. The episode provides an example of how an organization under extreme stress managed to remain functional despite devastating numbers of incapacitated personnel.
Offered in partnership with the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies.

Did you miss the live event? Watch Military Lecture: The Great Sickness of 1740 below:

About Paul Mansell:

Paul Mansell studies military, medical, and early modern European history at Wilfrid Laurier University. His PhD dissertation examines the reactions of medical authorities and the Royal Navy to the worst British typhus epidemic of the 18th century. His interests also include the history of technology, building upon his background in electro-mechanical engineering, aerospace, and military aircraft.

Museum Dailies: Great Guelphites!
2021-04-26 | ONLINE
A video series for young (and young-at-heart) learners, Great Guelphites! introduces people who have made their mark on our community.
Meet Margaret Gillies

Meet Fred Hallet

Meet Thomas McCrae

Cursive Writing Template
Meet Dr. Parvathi Basrur

Animal and Insect Bingo
Meet Grant Love

Oral History Project
Meet Jean Little
Temporarily unavailable
Diary Entry Template

Museum Dailies: Collection Crawl
2021-04-27 | ONLINE
A video series for young – and young-at-heart – learners. Take a behind-the-scenes look at some fascinating objects in our collection.
Follow along with this Artefact Worksheet:

Collection Storage

Pocket Globe

Snowshoes

Crazy Quilt

Embroidery Samplers

1920s Dress

Museum Dailies: Museum of You!
2021-04-28 | ONLINE
A video series for young – and young-at-heart – learners. Tell your own story! Create a museum all about you.
Watch for new videos every Wednesday.

Artefact 1 Worksheet

Photography Worksheet

Oral History Worksheet

Artefact 2 Worksheet

Document Worksheet

Exhibit Planner Worksheet
Museum of You Exhibit Example

Museum Dailies: Museum Makers
2021-04-29 | ONLINE
A video series for young – and young-at-heart – learners.
Museum-inspired art and craft activities to cultivate creativity.
Watch for new videos every Thursday.
Thaumatrope

Apple Tree Thaumatrope Template
Banjo

Salt Painting

Ball and Cup Game

Puppet

Pig Puppet Pattern
Stained Glass Window Art

Museum Dailies: Closer Look
2021-04-30 | ONLINE
A video series for young – and young-at-heart – learners.
Take a close look at images from our collection. What do you see?
Watch for new videos every Friday.
E.R. Bollert Advertisement Puzzle

Covered Wagon Puzzle

Forget Me Not Puzzle

Demolition of an Old Theatre Puzzle

Telephone Switchboard Puzzle

Curling On the Pond Puzzle

History Bites: Collecting Experiences as they are Lived
2021-05-19 | ONLINE
History Bites is a monthly series of bite-sized conversations inspired by current exhibitions and stories from the collection. In this episode, Guelph Museums curator Dawn Owen chats about the exhibition Rapid Response: Collecting Experiences as they are Lived, with special guests Kween, Kavya Yoganathan, Justin Reid, June Wilson, and Alison Dunkley.

Did you miss the live event? Watch the recording of History Bites – Rapid Response: Collecting Experiences as they are Lived below:

History Bites: Life on the Grand, Reflections from the Black Community
2021-06-16 | ONLINE
History Bites is a monthly series of bite-sized conversations inspired by current exhibitions and stories from the collection.

Guelph Museums visitor experiences supervisor, Val Harrison, chats about the history of Black settlement around the Grand River, with special guests Kween and Denise Francis from the Guelph Black Heritage Society. This event is hosted in partnership with The 2Rivers Festival and The Guelph Black Heritage Society.

The books referenced in today’s talk are:
A Stolen Life, by David Meyler and Peter Meyler: https://49thshelf.com/Books/A/A-Stolen-Life
The Queen’s Bush Settlement, by Linda Brown-Kubisch

For more information about Guelph’s Black history, visit Jade Ferguson’s blog, referenced in the talk, here: https://blackpastinguelph.com/
To watch the Richard Pierpoint Heritage Minute again, visit Historica Canada’s YouTube page, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQyPXOHvwEc

Did you miss the live event? Watch the recording of History Bites: Life on the Grand, Reflections from the Black Community below:

Dad Tales
2021-06-20 | ONLINE
Storyteller Brad Woods celebrates Fathers Day with anecdotes on fatherhood. Premiering on Facebook Live @guelphmuseums.

About Brad Woods:
Brad Woods has told stories at festivals, theatres, conferences, prisons, churches and pubs all over North America and the UK. He tells traditional tales, literary classics and personal stories. His stories have been featured in a variety of broadcasts and publications including CBC Radio 1, the Globe and Mail and Canadian Running Magazine. Brad has told to all ages and in every type of venue imaginable. He is the recipient of the Alice Kane Award for Storytelling and used it to travel to Lesotho (Southern Africa) to tell, trade and collect stories on behalf of Bracelet of Hope.

“Hilarious, suspenseful – a masterful story teller. ”
Ins Choi, Creator-Kim’s Convenience

“Brad Woods is a master storyteller. With wit and wisdom, humour and heart, Brad skillfully weaves tales that leave his audience laughing and thinking, often at the same time.”
Terry Fallis, Novelist – Two Time Leacock Award Winner

“Brad Woods in an engaging and creative storyteller. He has a mix of personal and traditional stories and some that interweave the real and the fabulous.”
Dan Yashinsky, Founder – Toronto Storytelling Festival

History Bites: From Trailblazers to Changemakers
2021-07-21 | Ontario
Launched last September, Her Story: Trailblazers of Guelph and Wellington County celebrates the trailblazing stories of local women. They are activists, artists, caregivers, health care workers, mothers, politicians, scientists, and writers, as well as women-led organizations. Our exhibition will close before the museum reopens, but the conversation, like the work of all trailblazers, continues.
At noon on Wednesday, July 21, curator Dawn Owen and visitor experiences assistant Emma Tennier-Stuart will co-host History Bites: From Trailblazers to Changemakers, a one-hour podcast-style conversation that extends the scope of Her Story. Guest trailblazers and changemakers nominated by the community will be featured in this conversation.

Did you miss the live event? Watch the recording of History Bites: From Trailblazers to Changemakers below:

Rapid Response: Collecting Experiences as they are Lived
2021-07-27 - 2022-02-27 | Guelph Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major moment in history. On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. On March 17, Ontario declared a state of emergency, prompting citywide closures and social distancing protocols. In April 2020, the Museum, while closed to visitors, launched a call to community for contemporary objects and personal expressions reflecting our individual and collective experiences.
On May 25, 2020, the death of George Floyd in the US spurred the Black Lives Matter movement to international urgency. Locally, the Guelph Black Heritage Society organized a peaceful protest and march through downtown Guelph. On June 6, 2020, over 5,000 people gathered to raise awareness of lives lost in violence.
Guelph Museums and the Guelph Black Heritage Society partnered in the commitment to preserve the stories and experiences of Guelph individuals, families, and communities as we face these crises together.
This exhibition shares some of the hundreds of images, creative expressions, and physical objects that have been collected at Guelph Museums since April 2020 to document the local story of this historic time, as we live it.

This artwork by Emily Vander Vlugt depicts a crowd of protestors led by Kween, Executive Director of the Guelph Black Heritage Society. Kween made this audio recording in response to Emily’s artwork.
The art work and audio, jointly titled No Justice, No Peace, are featured in the exhibition Rapid Response: Collecting Experiences as they are Lived at Guelph Museums, from July 27, 2021 to February 27, 2022.

Hear a conversation with donors to the exhibition:

Presented in partnership with:

Bravo! Guelph Little Theatre Celebrates 85 Years
2021-08-10 - 2022-02-06 | Guelph Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario, N1H 4H8, Canada
Banner Image: The cast from “Angel Street” (1991), based on the 1938 play titled “Gaslight” by British dramatist Patrick Hamilton.
Bravo! As the city’s longest running community theatre, Guelph Little Theatre celebrates 85 years of creativity and entertainment.
Guelph Museums invites you behind the curtain and on the stage through stories, photographs, costumes and props. The rich history and resilient spirit of Guelph’s community theatre is on full display at the Guelph Civic Museum from August 10 to December 5, 2021.
Watch the Guelph Little Theatre Spotlight, powered by GuelphToday.com.

Presented in partnership with:

History Bites: Uncovering the Museum
2021-08-18 | ONLINE
Join us on Wednesday August 18th for History Bites: Uncovering the Museum. Take a tour of the Civic Museum with Visitor Experiences Assistant Anna as she interviews museum staff, shows behind the scenes of our re-opening preparations, and gives you VIP access to our day to day activities. It’s bound to be a packed episode full oh laughs, chats, and sneak peeks!

Did you miss the live event? Watch the recording of History Bites: Uncovering the Museum below:

It Happened Here: Johnston Green, University of Guelph
2021-09-07 | ONLINE
It Happened Here is a place-based video series exploring the history behind well known locations in the City of Guelph.
Episode 1: Johnston Green, University of Guelph
