Artifactuality with Kim Thúy
Welcome to Artifactuality, a new podcast series that imagines a museum of the future . . .
made up entirely of the stories we tell each other. Not the history that is captured in textbooks, but in the voices of the people who lived it.
Guided by prolific writer and podcast host Kim Thúy, listeners will hear remarkable stories told by Canadian and Indigenous personalities including a pop star, athletes, Elders, an expert on issues facing refugees and migrants, and a world-famous industrial designer.
Download and subscribe to Artifactuality: Stories From the Museum of the Future wherever you get your podcasts.
Season 2
Nav Bhatia, Toronto Raptors Superfan
When you hear the words “museum artifact” you probably don’t picture a bobblehead. Nav Bhatia’s enthusiastic devotion to the Toronto Raptors made him a celebrity — and the first fan inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. Now, he’s been immortalized as a “Superfan” bobblehead doll. The Canadian Museum of History recently acquired a Nav bobblehead for our collection. Hear Nav tell his story and curator Sara Barnes talk about why fans matter so much to sport history.
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Collecting COVID-19 History: Protest, Resistance and Celebration
Ottawa residents were fed up when the 2022 truckers’ protest shut down large parts of the city. Citizens took matters into their own hands, blocking a key intersection in an event that became known as “The Battle of Billings Bridge.” A small bronze plaque with a cheeky message was covertly installed to commemorate it in 2023. But no sooner had it arrived, it disappeared. Its creator has remained anonymous … until now. Learn how a fake history marker made its way to the Canadian Museum of History and why it’s important for the Museum to collect objects related to controversial current events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Stanley Hunt's Residential School Monument: Bringing Their Spirits Home
Kwaguʼł Master Carver Stanley Hunt created an impressive and moving 18-foot-tall memorial to the children who were victimized by Canada’s residential schools. He was inspired to act when the Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced that the unmarked graves of Indigenous children had been found at the site of the former Kamloops Residential School. Hear Stanley talk about how he turned his anguish into inspiration, the journey of his monument across the country to the Canadian Museum of History, and how art can help people recognize the truth about Canada’s colonial past.
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How Dale King, Montréal Aerobics Legend, Shook up 80s Women’s Fitness
In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Dale King was English Montréal’s most in-demand aerobics instructor. She did this by breaking from the Jane Fonda approach and bringing Black culture, music and dance to the fitness scene. Her surprising advertisements are part of the collection at the Canadian Museum of History. How we move our bodies matters. Learn why we should take aerobics seriously.
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Elizabeth Manley Is Not Apologizing: Body Image and Mental Health in Sports
Figure skater Elizabeth Manley was mercilessly criticized and fat-shamed in the lead-up to the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. She nonetheless persevered and triumphed, winning a silver medal and proving her critics wrong. Hear how she fought back and what she’s doing now to help other athletes rise above similar pressures. Her Olympic team jacket is part of the collection at the Canadian Museum of History. It illustrates the patriotism and fame that comes with elite athletic performance, but her story shows that some sports and athletes are singled out for unfair and harmful treatment.
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Woman, Life, Freedom: Canadian Protests and the Uprising in Iran
In 2022, a popular uprising in Iran was inspired by the death of Kurdish young woman Mahsa Jina Amini at the hands of the so-called “morality police.” Tens of thousands of Canadians took to the streets in solidarity with Iranian women’s rights and their intersectional demands for justice. The Canadian Museum of History is documenting this story through the stories of local activists and the poster art they create for demonstrations. Hear about the Museum’s efforts to document unfolding events, the importance of transnational movements and communities to Canadian history, and how Iranian Canadians manage the challenge of watching a crisis unfold from afar.
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Forgotten Cemetery: Burial and Rediscovery in Downtown Ottawa
When workers began digging beneath Ottawa’s streets to build a new transit line, they discovered a forgotten 19th century cemetery. History Museum curator Janet Young was called in to help identify the early settlers buried there. Find out how she investigates burials and solves the mysteries of who these people were and how they lived.
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How Canadian Children’s TV Punches Above its Weight
Chances are your favourite TV show as a kid was made in Canada. Nostalgic shows from the 1980s — Polka Dot Door, Fraggle Rock and Today’s Special — reflect a distinctly Canadian approach that was replicated around the world. Canadian shows offered kids education, respect and inclusion. The classic show Today’s Special embodied these values. And its star, Nerene Virgin, inspired a generation of young viewers.
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Charlotte Nolin’s Portrait: Representing Two-Spirit Stories
Charlotte Nolin is a Two-Spirit Métis elder who overcame violence and prejudice to become a leader, uplifting and making space for Indigenous 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Before North America was colonized, many Indigenous peoples recognized a range of genders and sexualities. But European settlers imposed rigid views of gender and forced many trans, queer and gender fluid people to hide their identities. Recently, Charlotte’s portrait by Métis artist JD Hawk was acquired by the Canadian Museum of History. Learn how this artwork helps us recognize the long history and diversity of Indigenous gender and sexual identity.
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Donovan Bailey, Olympic Champion: Win or Learn
In 1996, Donovan Bailey became both the world champion and the Olympic gold medallist in the 100-metre race. He became an enduring Canadian sports hero. In this final episode of season 2, Kim Thúy talks with Bailey in front of a live studio audience. They discuss his origins, the hard lessons of discipline, and competition. Hear his surprising thoughts on the connections between winning and losing.
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Season 1
The Meaning of Mitsou
In this episode, we talk to Mitsou about her early costumes and the highs and lows of her music career. As it turns out, being a pop star may have been Mitsou’s origin story, but there was much more to come.
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Breaking Ice
The National Hockey League was dominated by white men until 1958, when the first Black player made history by joining the Boston Bruins. Listen to two special guests talk about hockey and the racial barriers of yesterday and today, including why more needs to be done to tear down barriers so that anyone who wants to play, can play.
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We Have Always Been Here
For the Blackfoot of southwestern Alberta, there is no doubt: their stories, songs and ceremonies have always been here. A discussion between archaeologist Gabriel Yanicki and Blackfoot Elders.
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Hearts of Freedom
Between 1975 and 1985, refugees from Southeast Asia came to Canada in what was the largest refugee resettlement in Canada since the Second World War. Take a closer look at two individual’s stories: Stephanie Stobbe, the lead curator of the Hearts of Freedom exhibition, and Kim Thúy, the show’s host.
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The Prince of Plastic
Why can’t the objects we use every day be beautiful, unique and useful? This is the question that drives Karim Rashid, an industrial designer known for his affordable designs.