Civic Museum
Celebrating Guelph’s stories!
The Guelph Civic Museum showcases Guelph’s history through permanent and changing exhibits, a fun and interactive families gallery, and special events and activities. Located in the recently renovated Loretto Convent, atop the hill at Norfolk Street and beside the landmark Church of Our Lady, the museum is home to a collection of over 30,000 artifacts that bring Guelph’s past to life.
2012
Guelph Civic Museum opens at 52 Norfolk Street, the former Loretto Convent.
2000
The “Growing Up in Guelph Children’s Museum” opens at the Civic Museum. The popular children’s gallery attracts many more visitors and significantly increases the number of family memberships.
1980
Guelph Civic Museum opens at 6 Dublin Street South, a commercial limestone building built c.1855. The building had many uses over the years but was most recently known as the Knights of Columbus Hall.
1967
Canada’s Centennial Year. The Museum opens in its first home in the horse stables, now the Farmer’s Market.
1960’s
Members of the Guelph Historical Society begin to collect artifacts and displays are mounted in store fronts and community centres.
Upcoming Events
January 2019
Decolonizing Guelph’s Founding Story
Guelph Museums is in the process of decolonization through the restructuring of our colonialist framework and by collaborating meaningfully with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We are committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and we strive to initiate dialogues and create safe spaces for truth telling. These guiding principles inform all that we do at Guelph Museums. In the 1850s and 1860s, provincial and university-based museums were created across Upper Canada; however, after Confederation in…
Find out more »Indigenizing Galt
Guelph Museums is in the process of decolonization through the restructuring of our colonialist framework and by collaborating meaningfully with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We are committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and we strive to initiate dialogues and create safe spaces for truth telling. These guiding principles inform all that we do at Guelph Museums.
Find out more »February 2019
Reading Galt
Guelph Museums is in the process of decolonization through the restructuring of our colonialist framework and by collaborating meaningfully with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We are committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and we strive to initiate dialogues and create safe spaces for truth telling. These guiding principles inform all that we do at Guelph Museums.
Find out more »Lacrosse: The Creator’s Game
Guelph Museums is in the process of decolonization through the restructuring of our colonialist framework and by collaborating meaningfully with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We are committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and we strive to initiate dialogues and create safe spaces for truth telling. These guiding principles inform all that we do at Guelph Museums.
Find out more »March 2019
Konnón:kwe
Header image Amanda Strong, How to Steal a Canoe, 2015 (still from stop-motion animation) Konnón:kwe, a Kanyen'kéha (Mohawk) word signifying “three or more women,” speaks to the power of collective agency by Indigenous women artists. Themes of wellness, community, and environmental justice weave historic artifacts and contemporary fine art into an exhibition that invites visitors to consider Indigenous futurities in the local context. As leaders who have held their ground though the centuries, Indigenous women continue to shape wellness and…
Find out more »Indianized
Artist Naomi Smith has embellished everyday objects using traditional Indigenous beadwork techniques and imagery. Her artworks reflect that our material culture is no longer about practical functionality; instead, logos and brands have become the symbols that define societal meaning and value. In this exhibition, Indianized, Smith extends this phenomenon in unusual and visually intriguing ways, without losing sight of the time-honoured traditions of the Woodlands First Nations. This exhibition runs concurrently with Konnón:kwe. Naomi Smith runs workshops through Black Tulip Designs.
Find out more »Fourth Friday: Ansley Simpson
Celebrate the opening of spring exhibitions, Indianized and Konnón:kwe, with a performance by Ansley Simpson! On the Fourth Friday of the month, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 5 p.m. Opening remarsk at 6:30 p.m. and performance by Ansley Simpson starts at 7 p.m. Ansley Simpson is a Toronto-based Anishinaabe singer-songwriter and inaugural winner of the BullsEye Media Emerging Artist award from ImagineNATIVE and Slaight Music. Her much anticipated debut album “Breakwall” is a gentle, powerful collection…
Find out more »Military Lecture: Riding into Battle
Ted Glenn presents, Riding into Battle: Canadian Cyclists in the Great War. Speaker Ted Glenn will draw on his forthcoming book on Canada’s Great War Cyclists when he presents the eighth annual Toronto History Lecture. The story of Canadian Cyclists in the Great War is largely unknown. Drafted between 1914 and 1916, these troops spent most of the war digging trenches, patrolling roads, and delivering dispatches. Based on personal diaries, memoirs, and newspaper accounts, the lecture addresses the Cyclists’ early war…
Find out more »Fifth Friday Pub Night – Scottish Studies, U of G
19+ Event | No cover charge. Fifth Friday! Something new at the Civic Museum, pub night! On Fifth Fridays, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 7 p.m. Featuring, Scottish Studies Department, U of G. Trivia, Scotch, and more. Cash bar.
Find out more »April 2019
Tales from the Hill – Brad Woods
Join Guelph Guild of Storytellers and special guests on the first Wednesday of each month. This month's special guest is Brad Woods. Free admission. UPCOMING: May 1 - Storytelling through dance
Find out more »School’s Out, Museums In – Earth Month
On this PD Day, we're celebrating Earth Month. Bring your recyclables and create bird feeders and a bug hotel. There will be two sessions, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Find out more »Indigenous Beading Workshop with Naomi Smith
Create a functional and decorative 3-D beaded Strawberry Emery influenced by a century old Native American design. The Strawberry remains an esteemed symbol of Woodlands Native Culture. Beautiful silk and velvet fabrics make up the main body which is finely beaded using various seed beads. As a way of honoring the history of this piece antique beads will be incorporated into the design. Traditional Native teachings will be part of the learning experience. $60 +HST, plus supplies (see below) |…
Find out more »Fourth Friday: Annie Sumi
Kick off your weekend with a performance by Annie Sumi! On the Fourth Friday of the month, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 5 p.m. Performances by Annie Sumi at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cash bar. Annie Sumi is an Ontario based ethereal-folk artist with a unique ability to capture the subtleties of nature and spin them into melodies. Her latest release, "In the Unknown", is a collection of stories that speak to the journey…
Find out more »Doors Open After Dark
Launching the Doors Open Guelph weekend, Doors Open After Dark will celebrate Guelph’s 192nd birthday, and commemorate the 240th birthday of Guelph founder John Galt, with history and art activations at and around the Civic Museum. This free event is aimed at creating opportunities to connect, explore and engage the community with history in unique ways. Want to get involved? Artists and historians can respond to a Call to Artists for Doors Open Guelph and Doors Open After Dark Submit your application to museum@guelph.ca Submissions…
Find out more »May 2019
Tales from the Hill
Join Guelph Guild of Storytellers and special guests on the first Wednesday of each month. Free admission.
Find out more »Mother’s Day Tea
Treat mom to an afternoon of tea, and treats at the Civic Museum. Relax and enjoy fresh scones, jam, treats, fresh fruit and bottomless pots of McCrae Private Blend and Guelph Town Garden Blend teas. There will be two seatings: 1 and 3 p.m. Tickets in advance.
Find out more »Fourth Friday: The Waverlys
Kick off your weekend with a performance by The Waverlys! On the Fourth Friday of the month, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 5 p.m. Performance by The Waverlys at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Cash bar. The Waverlys are an Alternative-Folk duo composed of cellist and vocalist Charlotte Moore and singer/songwriter Kevin Myles Wilson. With minimal instrumentation; a guitar, a cello and a vintage suitcase transformed in to a kickdrum, The Waverlys, led by smooth, sincere…
Find out more »Fifth Friday Pub Night – Queer of Craft
19+ Event | No cover charge. Fifth Friday! Something new at the Civic Museum, pub night! On Fifth Fridays, Guelph Museums offers free admission to the Guelph Civic Museum after 7 p.m. Featuring beer trivia with Queen of Craft. Cash bar.
Find out more »
