TORONTO, May 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In honour of International Museum Day (May 18th) and May is Museum Month, the Ontario Museum Association (OMA) encourages Ontarians to visit the 700 museums, galleries and heritage sites across the province and in their communities. With this year’s International Museum Day theme of “The Power of Museums,” the OMA is highlighting all the ways that museums are bringing positive change by contributing to achieving sustainability, innovating in digitalization and accessibility, and building communities through education. The occasion also marks an opportunity to kick-off 2022’s summer tourism season and the OMA’s 50th anniversary celebrations!
Her Honour The Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell has offered a video message to the OMA in recognition of May is Museum Month and the OMA’s 50th anniversary, available here: https://youtu.be/yE2ayI5e0wQ
“The Ontario Museum Association, in its 50th anniversary year, celebrates the 2022 edition of May is Museum Month/Mai, Mois des Musées and International Museum Day, May 18th. Ontario’s museums offer all visitors the ability to enjoy and learn from our shared history, bringing us together in reimagining a new future. Across the province and around the world, we can celebrate the power of museums to bring about positive change in our communities.
On the OMA’s 50th anniversary, we celebrate the dedication of the thousands of museum staff and volunteers whose skills, passion and commitment advance a strong museum sector for Ontario. Thank you!”
-Marie Lalonde, OMA Executive Director
Museums are ready to welcome local visitors and tourists alike, with safe, in-person experiences, new exhibits and programs, and many seasonal attractions opening for the summer. May is Museum Month / Mai, Mois des Musées and International Museum Day are an opportunity to remind us that Ontario museums can help our province rebuild and emerge stronger from the global pandemic. The OMA encourages everyone to rediscover our local community museums in celebration of International Museum Day and May is Museum Month.
Please see a sample of events and offerings across the province, below:
Central Ontario
Toronto History Museums: offering free admission [https://www.toronto.ca/news/toronto-history-museums-to-permanently-provide-free-general-admission-year-round/], beginning May 1st
Collingwood Museum: The Town Hall Clock Tower will be illuminated purple in honour of International Museum Day [https://www.collingwood.ca/council-government/news-notices/join-collingwood-museum-may-museum-month], May 18-25
Military Communications and Electronics Museum (Niagara Falls): offering free admission [https://www.candemuseum.org/], May 18th
Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum: exhibition opening, “All Along the Waterfront” [https://www.notlmuseum.ca/], May 18th
Orillia Museum of Art and History: “The History of the Trent-Severn Waterway” with guest speaker Charlie Ellins [https://www.orilliamuseum.org/project/1/], May 18th
Port Colborne Museum: Community Exhibit Adventure [https://www.portcolborne.ca/en/news/celebrate-the-power-of-museums-on-international-museum-day-with-the-port-colborne-museum.aspx], May 18th
Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum: offering free admission [https://www.townofws.ca/en/explore/museum.aspx], May 21st
Eastern Ontario
Brockville Museum: exhibition opening featuring works by Lindsay, Buell, Wright and Hare [https://www.brockvillemuseum.com/exhibit], May 18th
Diefenbunker - Canada's Cold War Museum (Carp) : “An Exhibition of the Canadian-Hungarian Artists Collective” [https://diefenbunker.ca/exhibitions/], until May 28th
Watson’s Mill (Manotick) : Dickinson Square Season Opening, May 21st
South-Western Ontario
Owen Sound’s Billy Bishop Museum and Community Waterfront Heritage Centre join OPEN card, launching May 18th in celebration of International Museum Day [https://www.opencard.ca/]
Chimczuk Museum and the Art Gallery of Windsor - free admission, Mayor’s Walk, and City of Windsor's 130th Birthday Celebration, May 21st [https://www.citywindsor.ca/mayorandcouncil/pages/city-of-windsor-birthday.aspx]
Canadian Transportation Museum & Heritage Village (Kingsville): offering free admission [https://ctmhv.com/event/international-museum-day/], May 18th
Northern Ontario
Mattawa Museum: seasons opening [https://mattawamuseum.ca/museum-news-2/], May 18-21st
The Muse (Kenora): “Dakobinaawaswaan (Baby in a Cradleboard)”, until June 5th, with Tikinaagan Workshop May 17-18. [https://themusekenora.ca/exhibit/dakobinaawaswaan-baby-in-a-cradleboard/]
Sault Ste. Marie Museum and Entomica: pop-up exhibit celebrates the importance of natural history [http://www.saultmuseum.ca/], May 18th
Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre: A Treasury of Textiles, Celebrating the Porcupine Handweavers and Spinners Guild’s 45th Anniversary, until May 31st [http://www.timminsmuseum.ca/exhibits/]
BACKGROUNDER
About May is Museum Month:
Celebrated annually since 2000, May is Museum Month/Mai, Mois des Musées is a program of the Ontario Museum Association and celebrated by Ontario’s 700+ museums, galleries, and heritage sites, their 11,000 employees, and 37,000 volunteers.
Communities across Ontario have proclaimed May is Museum Month in 2022, including:
- Toronto
- Ottawa
- Brockville
- Mississippi Mills
- Port Colborne
- Sault Ste. Marie
Read more HERE: https://members.museumsontario.ca/programs-events/advocacy/mmm-imd
Download the May is Museum Month 2022 social media kit HERE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11XpnZWTOdm-A8zS5Ai_kKubFLsEs8G5e/view?usp=sharing
About International Museum Day 2022: The Power of Museums:
A worldwide initiative of the International Council of Museums, organized each year on and around May 18th. On this day, participating museums plan creative events and activities related to the International Museum Day theme, engage with their public and highlight the power museums have to transform the world around us by bringing positive change to their communities.
Read more HERE: https://imd.icom.museum/
About Ontario Museums:
- Ontario has more than 700 museums, galleries, and heritage sites that welcome more than 19.4 million in-person visits a year
- Ontario’s museums contribute an estimated $1.6 billion in total economic value annually
- Ontario museums employ 11,000 people across the province
- More than 37,000 volunteers contribute 3.6 million hours a year in support of Ontario’s museums
- 77% of Ontario museums offer programs linked to school curriculum, welcoming 2 million visits by Ontario school children every year
- Ontario museum websites welcome 112.8 million visits a year – 4 visits per second!
- Museums in Ontario have engaging digital content: pictures, video, even virtual reality!
About the OMA 50th Anniversary:
For 50 years, the Ontario Museum Association (OMA) has strengthened capacity among institutions and individuals active in Ontario’s museum sector, facilitated excellence and best practices, and improved the communication and collaboration of its membership. The Association advocates for the important role of Ontario’s museums to society, working with all stakeholders, related sectors and industries, and other professional organizations. The OMA fosters connections between a network of over 1000 members, representing individual museum workers and 700 museums, galleries, and heritage sites across the province.
For all questions about the Ontario Museum Association and the museum community, please contact:
Marie Lalonde
Executive Director
Ontario Museum Association
416-348-8672 --Toll Free in ON 1-866-662-8672
communications@museumsontario.ca
www.museumsontario.ca
