Arts, Culture & Heritage Newsletter - Fall & Winter 2014-2015

8/10/2019 Arts, Culture & Heritage Newsletter - Fall & Winter 2014-2015

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ARTS, CULTURE & HERITAGEDevote yourself

to your

community

around you &

devote yourself

to creating

something that

gives you purpose

and meaning -

Mitch Albom

In This Issue

Culture Days, 2014

Sioux Lookout

Community Museum

Grand Re-Opening

Proud History, Bright

Future -The Oral

History Project

Arts, Culture & Heritage

inspired Community

Mural

Ripples: Sioux Lookouts

Arts & Culture DirectoryPeggy Sanders and Vera Kameda-Lacroix explore a display on the Elliot Brothers atthe Community Museum Grand Re-Opening on August 5th, 2014 at the HeritageRailway Station. Photo Credit: Tim Brody/Sioux Bulletin

New Era for the Sioux LookoutCommunity Museum!

Municipality of Sioux Lookout Arts, Culture & Heritage NewsletterFall Winter 2014 2015

Museum Update

It has been a very exciting summer and autumn for the Sioux

Lookout Community Museum! Thanks to Councils vision, we areproud to announce the Museums new home on the second floor of

the Heritage Railway Station. In addition to the excitement about

the new space, in October the Museum was presented with the On-

tario Museum Associations Award of Excellence in

Publications, which recognizes the Museums innovative Mobile

App. And finally, People First: Proud History, Bright Future the

oral history project is now underway with interviews taking place

throughout November.

Read on for more details and be sure to visit us soon!

Stu Finn, Museum Coordinator


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Sioux Lookout artist, Curtis MacDonald, poses next to his works at the Art Exhibition component ofthe Culture Days Kick-Off Celebrations at the Heritage Railway Station on September 26th, 2014.Photo courtesy of Curtis MacDonald.

Thank-you,Sioux Lookout,for participatingin Culture Days,

2014!

* A sincere thanksto all of the artists,artisans andcommunityorganizers thathelped to bringCulture Days toSioux Lookout for asecond year!Thank you somuch, also, toeveryone who

joined us for theCulture Days KickOff Celebrations onSeptember 26th atthe HeritageRailway Station. It

was truly a magicalnight!

-Reilly Scott,Arts & Culture Coordinator

Culture DaysSeptember 26th-28th, 2014This years Culture Days Celebrations were truly inspiring. With six activities taking

place in Sioux Lookout over the three day span (September 26th, 27th and 28th), there was a

variety of artistic, culturally diverse and inclusive activities available for the community.

Friday, September 26th included a Culture Day at the Nishnawbe -Gamik Friendship Centre,

a Music Jam at Queen Elizabeth District High School, a Community scrapbooking session at

the Sunset Womens Aboriginal Circle, and finally the Culture Days Kick Off Celebrations atthe Heritage Railway Station in the evening. The Kick Off Celebrations featured a

multi-faceted Arts & Culture open house

that included Sioux Lookouts Monthly

Open Stage event, hosted by local

musicians Klaus Rossler and Mel

Stewart, an art exhibition featuring the

work of local Artists and artisans, a

Natasha Quequish performs at the Open Stagecomponent of the Culture Days Kick Off Celebrationson September 26th, 2014 at the Heritage RailwayStation. Photo Credit: Geoff Shields/Sioux Bulletin.

Museum open house and art installations by local artists Nadine Arpin and

Hana Beitl. The event was hugely successful with over 120 people in atten

ance throughout the evening. Saturday, September 27th events included a

Latin dance and Zumba party at the Heritage Railway Station presented byONYX Dance and Fitness Studio as well as a Minecraft Party and Creative

Consultation provided by the Sioux Lookout Public Library. Sunday evening

offered a traditional Mennonite Hymn Sing at the Believers Fellowship

Church. A yearly celebration of Arts & Culture, Culture Days promotes art

and cultural recognition in cities and towns across Canada by encouraging

Canadian communities to offer free events and activities over a three day

weekend at the end of September. 2014 marks Sioux Lookouts second ye

joining in the Culture Days festivities and the Municipal Cultural Divisions

second year facilitating its delivery.


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The Sioux Lookout Community Museum finally ha

new home! On August 5th, during the 2014 Bluebe

Festival, the Museum held its Grand Re-Opening at

new location on the 2nd

level of the Sioux Look

Heritage Railway Station. More than 200 peo

attended the opening ceremonies, including memb

of the public, the Mayor and members of Council. Tceremonies began with remarks by Mayor Leney a

included a presentation by Garnet Angeconeb, a lo

activist and residential school survivor, who offered

museum a pair of model snowshoes in honour of

Grand Re-Opening. This event was also honoured

the presence of Peggy Sanders, who was one of

original founders of the Sioux Lookout Commu

Museum when it opened its doors as part of the Sa

Vaughan Public Library in 1967.The new Muse

space allows us to display the artifacts in a beau

and historically significant setting. In preparation for

Museum relocation, some renovations were made to the space. These

physical changes involved the application of a UV -filtering coating to all of

the windows in the Museum that will protect the artifacts and equipment from

harmful light, the installation of light-blocking shades, and LED track lighting

that was installed in the Mountain-View Gallery in order to provide

appropriate lighting and atmosphere for the displays. Feedback regarding

the Grand Re-Opening and the Museum has been overwhelmingly positive.

Goals for the new year are to rotate the exhibits in order to keep the space

fresh and to encourage visitors to attend regularly, as well as to continue in

the development of sustainability plans to ensure the presence of the

Community Museum in Sioux Lookout for many years to come.

For more information on the Sioux Lookout Community Museum, including

hours of operation and access to virtual exhibit displays, visit the Museum

website at: www.siouxlookoutmuseum.ca or the Municipality of Sioux

Lookouts website at: http://www.siouxlookout.ca/en/discover-the-hub/

museum.asp

Community Members view an exhibit on traditional Anishinaabe beading at theMuseum Grand Re-Opening on August 5th at the Heritage Railway Station.Photo Credit: Tim Brody/Sioux Bulletin

Proud History, Bright Future -The Oral History ProjectThe Museums oral history project, called People First: Proud History, Bright Future is now underway! We are currently in

process of training our student volunteers to conduct and record interviews with local Seniors and Elders. The interviews will tak

place throughout the month of November. Another very exciting aspect of the project will be the digitization (and theref

preservation) of many interviews that were recorded in years -gone-by. We are so excited about the potential to incorporate

recordings into future Museum projects, exhibits and programming initiatives.

The Mountain-View Gallery at the Sioux LookoutCommunity Museum located at 53 Front Street in the Herage Railway Station, 2nd level.Photo Credit: R. Scott

The Community Museum Grand Re-Opening, August 5th, 2014

Sioux Lookout Museum receives award for excellence!The Sioux Lookout Community Museum is the proud recipient of the Ontario Museum Associations Award of Excellence in Publ

tions, in recognition of its Mobile App! The Ontario Museum Network has said: The Sioux Lookout Community Museums Mo

App project is a great example of a small community museum leveraging scarce resources and using cutting-edge technology to s

relevant and to engage new demographics (in particular, youth) in its community. The [App] is beautiful, intuitive to navigate, and

the first of its kind among museums in Northwestern Ontario. We could not be more honoured to have received this award! The Ais available for free, for Apple devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and Android phones and tablets in Apples App Store and thro

Google Play.


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Contact Us

Please contact us for

more information on the

Sioux Lookout Community

Museum and/or arts,

culture & heritage

initiatives.

Municipality of Sioux

Lookout

Box 158, 25 Fifth Avenue

Sioux Lookout, ON

P8T 1A4

Brian MacKinnon

Deputy Clerk, Culture &

Communications manager

bmackinnon

@siouxlookout.ca(807) 737-2700 ex. 2243

The Sioux Lookout Museums GrandRe-Opening Community inspired mural

Ripples: Sioux Lookouts Arts & Culture Directory 2014/2015Last minute finishing touches to Ripples: Sioux Lookouts Arts

Culture Directory, 2014/2015 are currently underway! Th

directory, a project founded in 2010 as a collaboration between th

Sioux Lookout Creative Arts Circle and the Municipality of Sio

Lookout, was created when the need to showcase Sioux Lookou

many talented artists and artisans became recognized. F

2014/2015, the Municipal Culture Division has endeavored continue the efforts to actively promote and enhance the artis

community of Sioux Lookout by updating the directory. In this th

volume, the capacity of the directory has expanded to includ

cultural organizations, celebrations and arts and culture-relat

businesses as well as artists and artisans. Hard copies of th

directory will be available in the new year at the Municipal Cultu

Divisions office on the 2nd level of the Heritage Railway Station b

donation to the Sioux Lookout Community Museum. A downloadab

digital version of the directory will also be available in early 2015 o

the Municipality of Sioux Lookouts website, under Arts & Cultur

www.siouxlookout.ca/en/discover-the-hub/Arts-and-Culture.asp

This mural, created by visitors to the Municipal Cultural Division/Sioux Lookout CommunityMuseum and inspired by the question In my Community Museum Id Like was on display inthe Boreal Community engagement room on the 2nd level of the Heritage Railway Stationduring the months of August and September, 2014. Thanks for your feedback, everyone!

New Yorkmixed media on canvas by local artist and SiouxLookout resident, Angela Monheim.

At our Grand Re-Opening and continuing throughout August and September, 2014 we asked

visitors to the Community Museum to complete the sentence In my Community Museum, Id

like in the form of a community mural. The results were inspiring! What began as a blank

canvas on the wall of our Boreal Community Engagement Room turned into a rich and diverse

work of art created by the community, offering us key insights into participants interests,

aspirations and desires for Sioux Lookouts museum. Recommendations included: stories and

memories collected from visitors, music, dance, art exhibits, biographies of settlers and First

Nations Peoples, clothing, food preparation, activities for seniors/elders, photographs,

archaeology, booksand the list goes on and on! The feedback given through this mural has

been recorded and will continue to be reviewed as a means of providing ideas for exhibits,

events and other experiences in the Community Museum space that fulfill the desires of the

larger community. It is our hope that we will able to continue to incorporate interactive

activities, such as this, into the museum space and programming mandate in the future.

Thanks again, everyone, for your participation!

Documents

Arts, Culture & Heritage Newsletter - Fall & Winter 2014-2015