Guelph Museums receives Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation

GUELPH, February 21, 2020: Guelph Museums’ exhibition ‘Into the Light: Eugenics and Education in Southern Ontario’ received the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation, presented by The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell at a ceremony at Queen’s Park last evening.

Into the Light: Eugenics and Education in Southern Ontario brings the histories and experiences of eugenics to light by preserving and sharing stories of survivors of eugenic practices while presenting evidence of eugenics in education uncovered in university archives. Into the Light is a collaboration between Guelph Museums, Re•Vision: The Centre for Art and Social JusticeBodies in Translation: Activist Art, Technology and Access to Life, and Respecting Rights, Arch Disability Law. It is co-curated by Mona Stonefish, Peter Park, Dolleen Tisawii’ashii Manning, Evadne Kelly, Seika Boye and Sky Stonefish.

Into the Light situates people with lived experience at the forefront and turns over museum space to tell these stories. Substantial efforts have been made to ensure the exhibition is accessible, including use of plain language, American Sign Language interpretation at events, captioning and transcripts of audio components, and narrative audio description. Its curators hope that Into the Light will inspire future examination and scholarship regarding the issue of eugenics and other difficult histories.

The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and the Ontario Heritage Trust celebrated projects and individuals who made exceptional contributions to heritage conservation in Ontario yesterday evening at the annual Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards ceremony at Queen’s Park.

These awards, now in their 14th year, encompass a wide range of unique and fascinating achievements in the conservation of Ontario’s heritage. The Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards, administered by the Ontario Heritage Trust, are prestigious awards that recognize exceptional contributions to heritage conservation, environmental sustainability and biodiversity, and cultural and natural heritage.

About the Ontario Heritage Trust:

The Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) is an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. The Trust identifies, protects, promotes and conserves Ontario’s heritage. The Trust conserves provincially significant cultural and natural heritage, interprets Ontario’s history, educates Ontarians of its importance in our society, and celebrates the province’s diversity. The Trust envisions an Ontario where the places, landscapes, traditions and stories that embody our heritage are reflected, valued and conserved for future generations.

-30-

Sarah Ball | Community Relations Coordinator | Guelph Museums
Public Services | City of Guelph
T 519-836-1221 x 3392
E [email protected]

Posted by Dawn Owen on February 21, 2020