How is Canadian identity constructed across community museums?

I have been thinking about this question since reading the quote below as part of my doctoral work in or around 2016:

The Canadian patrimony is not all located in national museums, not by a long shot, and the real stories that shaped this country are found in local, regional and small museums and galleries across our incredible land. This is a rich tapestry knitted together by the love of volunteers and some generous donors.

Canadian Museums Association 2016

Due to this quote, I think about community museums in what we now call Canada as part of a tapestry of institutions telling Canadian stories. When I visit community museums, I think about the ways the institutions contribute to broader narratives about Canadian identity and heritage, such as:

• pioneer and “we’re all immigrants here” stories that are popular in Ontario;
• narratives about the perseverance of Acadians that are prominent in New Brunswick; or
• the idea of Albertans as mavericks.

The idea of a tapestry of Canadian heritage woven from the institutions telling stories that differ both regionally and in each unique space is foundational to my understanding of community museums in what we now call Canada.

However, I have struggled to articulate a research project around this idea. It is too big. From an academic perspective, fully considering the narratives presented in a single museum would require multiple visits, many pictures of the text and objects, as well as a lot of time (re)reading and (re)examining to provide a proper analysis. Within this framework, the time and financial commitment to look at a broader tapestry becomes unmanageable.

Leaving academia and spending more time in exhibits with a child has given me a different perspective. I am not a perfect museum visitor, but I have never actually seen a “perfect” visitor either.

Visitors don’t necessarily read all the text and/or don’t take the time to consider the visual language of all the artefacts presented. We don’t see every single label or understand all of the intended connections. We don’t always visit the same exhibit multiple times to provide space for reflection and reconsideration.

At the same time, community museum exhibits often involve a layering of content added and adjusted at different times, reflecting different understandings of the region’s history. Within an exhibit, there may be contradictions and language that was not fully considered. For example, one part of an exhibit may acknowledge the longstanding presence of Indigenous peoples in the territory while another claims we’ve all immigrated here from another country. Importantly, community museums often have a limited budget for the research and development of the stories they’re presenting.

We are all imperfect visitors visiting imperfect places.

Thinking of both myself and the institutions as imperfect has reshaped the way I am considering a research project. Instead of focusing on how identity is constructed, I would like to think about how Canadian heritage can be reasonably understood by a visitor visiting a tapestry of museums. Within this framework, I am centring my own understanding, which may differ from intent and does not reflect a perfectly constructed academic analysis. My draft guiding questions are:

As an imperfect visitor, how does the tapestry of community museums contribute to my understanding of Canadian identity and heritage? What narratives do I encounter in these spaces? What narratives do I miss?

Questions

I have been reflecting on these questions and have enjoyed the blog writing about some of my museum visits. However, the notes and pictures I am taking to remind myself of the experiences are inconsistent. I would like to create a guide for myself with prompts to respond to on each visit.

Context (Pre-visit Questions)

Sometimes, I experience the same museum differently due to context. For example, visiting alone is different than visiting with a toddler which is different than visiting with additional family members. I don’t know if this information will be relevant but it seems important to consider the ways I am an imperfect visitor on each visit. Personal and visit information:

• Date
• Have I visited before?
• What do I know / think about the museum prior to visiting?
• How do I feel prior to visiting?
• Who am I visiting with?
• What is the plan?

I would also like to gather some information about the places I am visiting before I go. Museum information:

• Cost
• What exhibits do they have on display?
• What is their mission / vision statement?
• Is there a museum budget or information about grants received available online?
• Is it staffed or volunteer run?
• Was I able to record this information and plan my trip with the information available online?
• What kind of museum is it (e.g., nonprofit or municipal community museum, provincial)?

Field Notes

Theses are the things I would like to consider while I am in the space.

Personal reflection:

• How long was the visit? Why (e.g., toddler impatience, hunger, visiting everything we wanted to see)?
• How do I feel during and at the end of the visit?
• Which exhibits did I engage with most thoroughly? Why?
• Do I know what treaty territory I was visiting? How do I know? Did the exhibit(s) contribute to my understanding?

Exhibition questions:

• How is content organized (e.g., chronologically, thematically)?
• What key message or theme did I notice in each exhibit visited?
• Are there overarching themes present across the narratives?
• Who do the exhibits present as “local” or “Canadian”?
• Where are Indigenous Peoples present within the narrative(s)?
• Is colonialism named? How is colonialism discussed?
• What is one thing I was excited to learn about or see?
• Is there any surprise content not listed on their website?

Visit Reflection

I would like to have some prompts for myself for post visit reflection:

• What do I remember most about the visit?
• Did anything stand out as particularly unique?
• Did I notice any common threads with other institutions I’ve visited?

Pictures

I am not certain if I need consistency here or the pictures will reflect my field notes. Some things that I think are important to photograph include land acknowledgements and treaty information.

Feedback

I would love thoughts on what questions I should ask myself.

I am also thinking about how to record the field notes and am open to suggestions. In some cases, I think I would like a notebook with a pencil. In others, I think voice notes make more sense.

References

CMA. 2016. The State of Museums in Canada: Brief to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Accessed: https://museums.in1touch.org/uploaded/web/docs/Advocacy/CMA_Recommendations_C HPC_2016_EN.pdf