The Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery celebrated 50 years of Saskatchewan museums with the Museums Association of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan History and Folklore Societies conference in Humboldt this past week.
Just like businesses and organizations, museums are fighting to remain relevant in today’s society by engaging with the public and bringing in new ideas and exhibits.
There are plenty of misconceptions about museums floating around, says Michelle Brownridge, the Museum Association of Saskatchewan’s community engagement coordinator, and many of them are not surprising.
Museums are stereotypically thought of as dark, dusty, and stagnate places but in many instances that is not true.
Museum directors and staff do not receive enough credit for the way they work to make their exhibits fresh and engaging, including our own staff at the Humboldt museum, and subsequently our gallery space.
We have amazing exhibits coming through the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery throughout the year and programs that engage people with the museum.
Throughout the province, there is a comprehensive network of people and organizations helping to keep the museum going and bringing exhibits into small museums and galleries.
Especially in Humboldt, local supports like the Humboldt Area Arts Council, Friends of the Museum and Gallery, and the city, to provincial entities like Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils, SaskCulture, and the Saskatchewan Arts Board to name a very slight few should be thanked often for the work that goes into keeping our museum and gallery.
So why are museums important?
They tell our story.
How many people would have known about women’s suffrage without the current exhibit at the museum?
How many chances would people have to see the work of Dawn Goosen’s photography 30 class or the work of Métis artists with the Being One with the Earth exhibit without their current exhibit at the gallery?
We have amazing stories to tell and every person that visits a museum, donates money, writes a grant, or takes care of the over 20,989 objects in the museum’s collection plays a huge role in keeping that story alive.
The wonderful thing about our museum is the fact that so many stories have not been told yet.
There are just too many to tell to have the museum tell them all in one lifetime.
Not only does Humboldt and the surrounding area have a story but we all have a reason that us and our families made it to Humboldt.
Museums make sure that our story stays alive.
