Issue 279 // Fall 2020 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in B.C.’s Cultural Sector The BC Museums Association (BCMA) provides networking, advocacy, innovation, and education Council opportunities for British Columbia's museum and gallery sector. Membership is available to Jodi Simkin President museums, galleries, heritage sites, and individuals Catherine Ouellet-Martin Vice President in the province affiliated with or interested in B.C.’s Tania Muir Past President museums, galleries and heritage sites. For more Brian Radburn Treasurer info visit: museumsassn.bc.ca. Carolyn Holmes Secretary Why: We believe in the transformative power Lynn Adam Saffery Councillor of museums. c̓ris – Jordan Coble Councillor Joelle Hodgins Councillor Vision: The museum community is valued for Sherri Kajiwara Councillor providing leadership, dialogue, influence and kevin david meisner Councillor knowledge to British Columbians. Alyssa Leier Councillor Mission: We lead by supporting, empowering and advocating for the BC museum community. The BCMA is a provincially incorporated society BCMA Secretariat and a registered charitable organization. The BCMA holds the copyright on all material unless Ryan Hunt otherwise stated. Opinions expressed are those Executive Director of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the [email protected] views of the Association. Vanessa Gelhaar Operations Manager Ad rates available upon request. [email protected] ISSN 0045-3005. Chepximiya Siyam – Chief Janice George Indigenous Engagement, Partnership, and Collaboration Facilitator [email protected] Lorenda Calvert Program Coordinator [email protected] Abigail Buckwalter-Ingram Development & Membership Manager [email protected] Christina Elkiw (Volunteer) Membership Coordinator [email protected] Lindsay Foreman Managing Editor, Roundup [email protected] Rosemarie Gresham B.C. Museums Association Designer, Roundup 675 Belleville St, Victoria, B.C. V8W 9W2 [email protected] 250-356-5700 [email protected] Issue 279 // Fall 2020 The BC Museums Association Secretariat is located on the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, traditional lands of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations of the and Accessibility in B.C.’s Lək̓ʷəŋən People. We are grateful for the opportunity to live and Cultural Sector learn here in mutual respect and appreciation. 02 Notes from the Editor We gratefully acknowledge the 03 Whoo's News financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia and the 04 Issue Introduction: Beyond the Black Squares generous support of the Royal BC Museum in providing a home for 08 Museums as Sites of Learning and Agents of Change the BCMA secretariat. 12 Reflections on Honouring, Preserving and Sharing12 12 Japanese Canadian History and Heritage 16 Unlearning the Museum in the Time of COVID-19 22 Decolonized Then, Now, and Forever Cover: Photo credit: 28 Towards a More Welcoming, Inclusive Bonding Beaver Media / SLCC. 28 New Westminster Museum 34 Column: Spotlight on Museum Ed 39 News 40 Column: Lunch with Owl, Mixalhítsa7 Alison Pascal 48 Column: Lunch with Owl, Kait Blake 54 Column: Being Small is not a Problem at all... 58 Volunteer Spotlight 60 Success by Association Notes from the Editor This issue of Roundup focuses on In reading this issue, you are opening Lindsay diversity, equity, inclusion, and your mind, heart, and ears to the change Foreman accessibility in the arts, culture, that is required within our sector. heritage, and museum sector. Its goal is to share, hear, and exhibit diverse How do these terms make you feel? Look voices, perspectives, stories, and for them throughout these pages. experiences from across the province. We’ve asked our contributors for Racism - Anti-Racism Marginalized their straightforward and honest Multicultural Visible Minority recommendations on how museums, Social Justice Complacency galleries, and other culture and heritage organizations can work to become Discrimination Empathy spaces of activism, inclusion, and better Injustice Collective Memory represent their communities. Resilience Genocide Oppression Xenophobia Exclusion BIPoC/IBPoC Privilege Antisemitism Colonial - Decolonize Knowledge Gap Prejudice Human Rights Legacy Civility Together, we have a long journey ahead. Whoo's News Through a collaboration with Carolyn Holmes joins the Community Living Victoria, Nanaimo Art Gallery as their Glen Kelly has been a cheery new Executive Director. After part of the Royal BC Museum two decades as the Executive community for 30 years. With Director of Two Rivers Gallery Photo credit: the pandemic putting an abrupt Photo credit: in Prince George, Holmes Royal BC Museum. end to his daily rounds picking BCMA. brings her prolific skill and Glen with Jack up paper recycling from all the experience in leading a vibrant Lohman receiving his 30 year certificate RBCM’s offices (including the and successful institution, and a earlier this year. BCMA secretariat), Glen retired passion for engaging the public this summer to spend time on with contemporary art, artists his favorite hobby, Star Wars. and encouraging creativity, to Happy Retirement, Glen! Nanaimo. Congratulations to Alyssa After 25 years with the Sidney Gerwing, who will be stepping Museum, and over two decades into the new role of Executive as its Executive Director, Peter Director at the Sidney Museum! Garnham is taking his first Prior to her three years as step towards retirement. For Photo credit: Assistant Director at the Photo credit: many years, Peter was the Amanda Cribdon Sidney Museum, Alyssa was Peter Garnham. sole employee of the museum Photography. the Assistant Archivist at The and ran it with the help of a Exploration Place Museum dedicated team of volunteers. and Science Centre in Prince He has seen the museum grow George. Her expertise includes in exceptional ways during his a Master of Arts in the History time as Executive Director. of Medicine and a Masters in Library and Information Studies, in addition to over 10 years of experience in a variety of archives and museum settings. ISSUE INTRODUCTION BEYOND THE BLACK SQUARES Dismantling Your Innate White Museum, Arts, and Heritage Spaces On March 13, 2020, Breonna Taylor, range of spaces have had their hidden a Black woman, was shot and killed and silenced seams opened publicly by white police officers in her home to the racism within their structures: in Louisville, Kentucky. On May 25, sports organizations, media channels, 2020, George Floyd, a Black man, universities, municipalities, provincial was murdered by a white police and territorial governments, the federal officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. government, corporations, the RCMP, These two watershed moments, as the local police, and yes, museums, art part of a consistent, persistent and galleries and spaces of culture. Many Sharanjit Kaur Sandhra ongoing pattern of murder, violence, may be asking ‘why now?’ Why in THIS hate, and anti-Blackness, triggered a given moment and with the incredible worldwide response and resurgence of force at which the conversations have #BlackLivesMatter. been made public? In an immediate response, no From my own experiences as a individual, no institution, no system, person of colour (PoC) over the past no one is left untouched in the ripple few months, I can tell you that this effects of a mass call to dismantle movement has triggered BIPoC/IBPoC racism and its perpetuation around us. racism, aggression, dismissal, and In the Canadian context, because - let condescension in the spaces we live in, me tell you, racism is just as relevant, work in, play in, eat in, and breathe in. prevalent and persistent here - a wide We have been suffocated day in and BEYOND day out from the lived experiences museum, one that questioned the of racism, and we are no longer colonial structures that resulted in accepting the status quo. We are no the theft of histories and bodies and THE BLACK longer accepting equity and diversity remains and art and aesthetics that did statements as a solution. We are no not belong to the white colonists who longer accepting your black squares on stole them. social media as an acceptable answer. SQUARES Not anymore. We are stronger than In my talk, I reminded listeners ever because of #BlackLivesMatter, from across B.C., that these are the we are supported more than ever foundations upon which their work because of #BlackLivesMatter, we and their systems stand, and that they are questioning ourselves and our and their institutions continue to communities more than ever because perpetuate the white supremacy that of #BlackLivesMatter, and we are permeates their buildings. In my talk, I showing the most solidarity to our provided 10 steps and calls to action to Indigenous and Black sisters and dismantle white supremacy in the arts/ brothers who have been doing this culture/heritage sector. work for centuries. We are powerful, we are intelligent, we are equipped, and we are angry. We have been suffocated day So what does that mean for the world in and day out from the lived of museums, and more specifically museums, arts, culture, and heritage experiences of racism, and we institutions and places in B.C.? On are no longer accepting the Wednesday, June 24, I delivered a one- hour webinar talk for the BCMA titled status quo. We are no longer “#MuseumsAreNotNeutral: White accepting equity and diversity Supremacy in Museums and Calls to Immediate Action.” The hashtag statements as a solution. We I used, #MuseumsAreNotNeutral, is one that emerged as a part of are no longer accepting your the #BlackLivesMatter movement, black squares on social media one that questioned the historical underpinnings and foundation of the as an acceptable answer. Unless you have experienced racism, been a part of systems Because unless you have experienced of oppression based on the racism, been a part of systems of colour of your skin, you simply oppression based on the colour of your skin, you simply cannot create the cannot create the content or be content or be a part of cultural systems a part of cultural systems that that enacts those stories for us.