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OMA Resources
Heritage Week
Join the Ontario Museum Association in celebrating
Heritage Week - February 20-26, 2023

Each February, Ontarians are invited to participate in Heritage Week. This week provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the vibrancy of the heritage and culture sector in Ontario. Many community objects, collections and stories are preserved and interpreted in museums and heritage buildings. Museums build strong communities, making them vibrant and vital places to live, work, visit & invest!
 
Get Involved!
  1. Invite your MPP to visit your museum! Tell them why you celebrate heritage and how it enriches your community. Use our letter template HERE. Find your MPP HEREBe sure to CC the OMA at community@museumsontario.ca (Christopher Shackleton) on your email.
  2. Engage through social media! Share graphics and messaging. Be sure to tag us @MuseumsOntario and use the hashtag #ONHeritageWeek and #MuseumsConnectON. Don’t forget to tag your local MPPs. Find your MPP on Twitter HEREFind information on sample posts and corresponding graphics in our toolkit.
Learn more in our Ontario's Heritage Week Toolkit HERE
Sample post - Museums are key assets for supporting Ontario’s tourism sector recovery—they attract visitors and renew downtowns. February 20-26 is #ONHeritageWeek! Join us in celebrating Ontario’s museums and their community contributions. #MuseumsConnectON
Download the Toolkit
Heritage Week In the Media
Heritage Week celebrates 20-year milestone for Collingwood
Muskoka Heritage Place Celebrates Heritage Week February 20 – 26, 2023
Ontario Museums Celebrate Heritage Week
@MuseOntArch Museum programs and volunteer opportunities combat social isolation and help build community wellbeing. From school programs to camps to special events, we have lots of exciting things planned at the MOA over the coming months for the community! #MOALondon #LdnOnt
@strathroy.museum Museums are a vital part of Ontario’s education landscape, with school visits and programs linked to provincial curriculum. Here at Museum Strathroy-Caradoc, we provide many school opportunities for elementary and secondary schools! Check out what we have to offer: https://www.strathroymuseum.ca/en/whats-on/school-programs.aspx
@pickeringmuse Ontario has more than 700 museums, galleries, and heritage sites – one in every community! February 20-26 is #ONHeritageWeek! Join us in celebrating Ontario’s museums and their community contributions. #MuseumsConnectON #HeritageWeek #PickeringHeritage
OMA Annual Conference 2022 Recordings
Members can watch Nov. 7 & 21 session recordings now!

Thank you for your participation in OMA Annual Conference 2022! We are excited to share with our members the recordings of Conference sessions - including livestreamed sessions from the plenary room on Nov. 7 and all sessions on Nov. 21.
The ABC’s of Podcasting: "Hear Our Stories" and Embracing Change

Speakers: Harkamal Ajrha, Julia Barclay, Sarah Cozzarin and Karen Vandenbrink

Podcast hosts discuss the processes behind the Hear Our Stories Podcast, a project hosted by the City of Waterloo Museum that shares stories from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Watch the session recording HERE.
Black History Month Events
Museums across Ontario are recognizing February as Black History Month through numerous exhibits, programs, and special events.
Tours Every Friday in February Tours at Black Mecca Museum
Feb. 1 – Cedar Park & Cherry Hill House: Mississauga’s Forgotten Black History, Benares Historic House
Feb. 1 – Black History in Ontario Museum, Bradley Museum
Exhibitions Feb. 1 – 28 Kuumba - Black Futures Month Celebration at Harbourfront Centre  Feb. 1 – May 28 Dis/Mantle, art exhibit inspired by the efforts of Black abolitionists, at Spadina Museum, Toronto History Museums Feb. 2 – Mar. 4 Black Families & Historic Settlements at Black Artist's Network & Dialogue (BAND) Gallery Every Saturday & Sunday in February Rarely Seen: Art from the Amherstburg Freedom Museum Collection Opens Feb. 4 Our Stories. Our History. Our Heritage by the Guelph Black Heritage Society at the Wellington County Museum and Archives Until Feb. 28 Unearth Uncover with Cawthra Park Secondary School, Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives and Museums of Mississauga Until Dec. 2025 Freedom, Opportunity and Family: Oakville’s Black History at Oakville Museum
Speaker Series
Feb. 26 Saladin Allah - Present-Day Freedom Seekers and The Power of our Stories, Niagara Parks
Feb. 27 Janie Cooper-Wilson, “Boots on the Ground: In the Public Interest," Simcoe County Museum
Mar. 2 Black Voices (In)Justice Supporting Black Youth Representation in the Legal Profession, Ontario Heritage Trust
Mar. 26 Kevin Cottrell - Interpreting The Underground Railroad in the age of Heritage Tourism and the built environment in the Niagara Region, Niagara Parks
Performances
Feb. 25 Good Vibes: Musical Performance by akaMatisse, Todmorden Mills, Toronto History Museums
Mar. 1 Miss Coco Murray - Black and Free: New Art, Un ‘loc’ de riddims in meh body, THEMUSEUM
Events
Feb. 25 Black Owned Toronto Market Place, Art Gallery of Ontario
Feb. 25 Celebrate Black Perseverance and Resilience with the Dufferin County Canadian Black Association, Museum of Dufferin
Feb. 28 FREE virtual tour of the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History, Ontario Heritage Trust
Mar. 8 Suritah Wignall - Black and Free: New Art, Mai ba da labara, THEMUSEUM
Mar. 15 TAFUI - Black and Free: New Art, Typeface, THEMUSEUM
Black History Month In the Media
Brantford's Canadian Military Heritage Museum displays Black military history
Josiah Henson Museum of African Canadian History part of a six-part series on Ontario historic sites
The Buxton National Historic Site and Museum Highlights Historic Black Settlement 
External Resources
Reimagining Governance Lab
Ontario Nonprofit Network and Ignite NPS
 
Reimagining Governance is a collaborative initiative between ONN and Ignite NPS. Its goal is to provoke a shift in how we talk about and do governance in nonprofit organizations so they’re better positioned for our futures. Explore resources, prompts, and practices that can help your organization discover different governance approaches.

Why reimagine governance? 
Nonprofits are working in increasingly complex environments, trying to meet demands for better governance, equity, new kinds of leadership, and more agile ways of working. Nonprofit governance must change to remain relevant. There’s a lot more space and opportunity to innovate than you may think!

Read more HERE.
Basic Care of Books - Notes
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI)

This CCI Note is an introduction to the care of books, with a focus on handling books of significance to their owners. Unlike many objects held in heritage collections, books are typically objects of use and are not meant merely to be displayed. As structural objects that are almost always designed to move, they are subject to stress and damage related to that use. Damage can occur due to the quality of the materials, the strength or weakness of the binding, the type of handling and the environmental conditions.

Suggestions for further reading and a list of preservation suppliers are included. If any significant intervention is required for a historic bookbinding, consult a professional conservator.

Read more HERE.
ICOM Canada's Travel Bursary Program Applications Deadline
ICOM Canada

As a way to help emergent museum professionals in building networks and lasting connections, ICOM Canada provides an annual Travel Bursary to support the participation of a graduate student or an emergent museum professional (with less than 5 years of work experience) to the annual ICOM conference or to any meeting of ICOM’s international committees

Deadline: March 15, 2023

ICOM-Canada will provide up to $1500 to cover costs related to conference registration, travel, accommodation, and local transportation, as well as a per diem allowance for meals. It is expected that applicants will seek additional funding through their university or employer. One applicant will be selected each year. The bursary will be awarded by an adjudication committee formed by the board of ICOM Canada.

Note: The award can be used to cover costs for virtual or physical attendance. 

Eligibility 

  • a Canadian citizen or resident, and;
  • A student enrolled in a graduate program in an accredited university (Canada or abroad) or an emergent museum professional with less than 5 years of work experience.
  • We welcome applications from students in diverse disciplines addressing issues related to museology, including, but not limited to, intercultural museology, museums and the Web, information technologies, collections management, museum administration, intangible heritage.
  • Individuals are only able to receive one ICOM Canada Travel bursary in their lifetimes, but may reapply if unsuccessful.
Read more HERE.
Download PDF HERE.
Upcoming webinar - Unpacking Ableism 101: Workshop Registration
Centre for Community Partnerships at the University of Toronto

Online
Friday, February 24, 2023
1:00pm - 3:00pm ET 
Accessibility: This synchronous Zoom meeting will include live captioning. If you have any other access needs, please indicate in the form below so that we can ensure your equitable participation.

This workshop, led by Kain Nathaniel and Midnight Anderson, facilitators from the Community Resistance Intimacy Project (CRIP Collective), addresses ableism within an intersectional framework, defines accessibility and accommodations, and helps participants engage meaningfully with anti-ableist discourse. The goal of this workshop is to introduce participants to a foundational knowledge of ableism and address how it can show up in an organization.

Read more and register HERE.
Upcoming webinar - Power Hour: Hosting Accessible Events
Brampton Arts Organization

Online
Wednesday March 1, 2023
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM EST

Join the Brampton Arts Organization and author and disability rights advocate Amanda Leduc as they discuss and review the key accessibility features of both in-person and virtual spaces. Learn about some important practices and guidelines to keep in mind when hosting your event, whether it's in-person, virtual, or a mixture of both. After this workshop, you will know how to plan accessible events from start to end instead of scrambling at the last minute.

Read more and register HERE.
Upcoming webinar - It’s not a grant: Demystifying the Social Finance Fund
Ontario Nonprofit Network and Ontario Trillium Foundation

Online
Tuesday March 7, 2023
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM ET

The Government of Canada’s Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy (SI/SF) aims to help social purpose organizations, such as nonprofits, to access flexible financing opportunities that enable them to grow and enhance their impacts. As part of the strategy, a $755 million social finance fund will be deployed this year.

Topics that will be covered during this webinar:

  • Introduction to social finance - what is it and why should nonprofits consider it?
  • Demystifying the Social Finance Fund - What is it and how does it work?
  • How can the Social Finance Fund benefit nonprofits?
  • What resources are available for nonprofits?
  • Ways to prepare while nonprofits are waiting for the fund to be deployed
Read more and register HERE.
Our Collections Matter Toolkit Workshop Applications Deadline
ICCROM

Deadline: March 17, 2023
 
Do you work with collections or in a collections-based institution such as a museum, archive or library? Would you like to unlock the full potential of these collections to make concrete contributions to sustainable development? Let ICCROM help you turn your aspirations into reality using the Our Collections Matter Toolkit!

If selected, you will participate in bi-monthly online workshops throughout 2023 to learn more about sustainable development, Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Read more and apply HERE.
In the Media
Leacock Museum's 'signature staple' annual Orillia poetry contest is back for 8th year
Giving Voice exhibit at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum explores the power of music across generations
200 years of Sikh-Canadian history on display in Woodstock, Ont., museum exhibit
Midland Cultural Centre hosts new Indigenous art exhibit
Royal Ontario Museum returning Chief Poundmaker’s pipe and saddle to family descendents
Family Day at Bushplane Museum puts the spotlight on Latin, Francophone cultures
Support Ontario’s Museums: Donate Now!

As museums across Ontario face the challenges of reopening safely and renewing relationships with your communities, the OMA is here for you. Your support, participation, and membership make our work possible.

If you are already an OMA member, thank you! Please renew your membership when you receive an email reminder. If you are not yet a member, please consider an individual, institutional, or commercial membership for yourself, your colleagues, or your institution. You can find information about member categories and benefits on our website.

You can make a donation to the OMA on our website or through Canada Helps. Every contribution adds to the collective strength of our sector. Thank you for your support!
Donate Now
We're Here to Help!

For all questions or inquiries please contact the OMA: community@museumsontario.ca 
or call 416-348-8672 / 1-866-662-8672.
As an organization of provincial scope, the Ontario Museum Association recognizes that its members and community live and work on the lands and territories of Indigenous peoples. Toronto, where the OMA offices are located, is the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Haudenosaunee and the Huron Wendat. We wish to express our gratitude for the resources we are using and pay respect to the rich and ongoing Indigenous history of what is now Ontario and Canada.
Our Mission
The Ontario Museum Association strengthens capacity among institutions and individuals active in Ontario’s museum sector, facilitates excellence and best practices, and improves 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.
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