The progress of a new permanent exhibition at Red Deer’s Museum + Art Gallery continues, as City council heard at their meeting Monday night.
Construction on the $1.5 million project is already well on its way.
“We’ve now crossed over from planning and we have moved into production,” said Lorna Johnson, executive director of the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery. “We began construction a couple of weeks ago.”
The exhibit called The Place Between: Stories from the Heart of the Parkland will utilize more than 40% of the facility space. Ten themed components will bring Red Deer’s history to life, showcasing the diverse heritage of Alberta’s third largest city.
The exhibit will consist of four main areas – Unusual Beginnings, Community Spirit, Leaders and Innovators and Our Red Deer. Several themes for other features will be included under each of these key subjects including local education over the years, life in Red Deer and overseas during the war years, arts and sports organizations will be highlighted as well as the agricultural industry among others. There will be a portion specially geared towards children as well, said Johnson.
Incorporated into the new exhibition will be an exhibit called Newcomers.
“We will be interviewing 50 newcomers to Red Deer to find out where they came from and to hear their stories,” said Johnson.
About 1,000 artifacts and 500 images and documents will ultimately be featured, and the permanent history exhibition will take up about 4,800 sq. ft. Johnson said the overall design will allow components and artifacts to be refreshed on a regular basis.
The exhibit will open March 25, 2013 to coincide with the City of Red Deer’s centennial and is expected to become a centerpiece for Red Deer, attracting visitors from all over the province and beyond, said Johnson. It also provides a starting point for discovering Red Deer and a way of building a sense of community by sharing the City’s historic roots.
The City of Red Deer has contributed $1 million to the project, but more money is still needed.
A fundraising campaign, entitled ‘Making History’ is being launched to invite members of the business community, individuals and groups to participate in making this exhibit come alive. A goal of $500,000 has been set for the campaign.
As reported to City council Monday night, the MAG has raised $108,639.
Organizers say the campaign’s goal is to secure 100 donations of $2,013. Members of the community are encouraged to contribute and be acknowledged on the donor wall in the permanent exhibition.
For more information, call the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery at 403-309-8405 or visit www.reddeermuseum.com.
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
