Museums on the move

From Vancouver to St. John’s, from China to Germany, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum zigzag the country and the globe. Eager to introduce our heritage to as many people as possible, they don’t hesitate to veer off the beaten track.

From sea to sea

Did you miss the “Rocket” Richard: The Legend – The Legacy exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in 2004? Didn’t catch it in Rimouski this summer? No worries, you still have a chance – our hockey hero will heat up the ice in Nanaimo, then skate to Medicine Hat and Prince George.

An exhibition called A Brush with War: Military Art from Korea to Afghanistan is taking a trip of its own: after visiting Kleinburg and London, it will make a pit stop at its Canadian War Museum home in February 2010 before heading to Fredericton, Hamilton, and Oshawa.

By covering the hundreds or thousands of kilometres that stretch between Canadians and their national capital, we bring unique national museum experiences directly to citizens.

The Traveling Exhibitions Program also allows provincial, regional, and even smaller venues around the country to present our national collection and benefit from our savvy. The Program also helps to foster appreciation for our national heritage and to reinforce our collective understanding and identity.

As they say – neither sleet nor snow will keep us from getting to you!

See the world

In addition to roaming from coast to coast to Canadian coast, the museums also go global. Just back from Hanover, Germany, the exhibition First Peoples of Canada: Masterworks from the Canadian Museum of Civilization won’t even have time to unpack before heading to the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. Then off to Mexico in 2010. This largest and most complete collection of Aboriginal artifacts to travel outside Canada is a rewarding way for the world to get to know our rich culture.

View the First Peoples Masterworks album on Facebook

Like a true diplomatic mission, our museums on the move carry Canada’s heritage into the very heart of a host country’s museum scene. What’s more, each tour stop is an opportunity to share our expertise, foster partnerships with museums around the world, and bring home important foreign exhibitions. It was one of these partnerships that brought the Treasures from China exhibition to us in 2007 while First Peoples of Canada was installed at the Imperial City Art Museum in Beijing during the 2008 Olympics.

Fifteen exhibitions leave the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum each year to see the world. Whether you visit them or they come to you, these museums are a thriving part of our modern cultural and social identity.

No matter where you are in Canada or elsewhere in the world, take a look – we just might be in the neighbourhood.