*NEWS RELEASE*

May 15, 2018



*Connect with BC museums in person and online during BC Museums Week, May
13-20, 2018*



British Columbians are invited to celebrate their local museums and
cultural heritage institutions this week as communities across the province
celebrate BC Museums Week.

BC Museums Week is an annual celebration of museums, art galleries,
historic sites, cultural centres, and other memory institutions in B.C.
The week is held annually in May, providing an opportunity for British
Columbians to celebrate the vital role museums play in their communities,
economy and education.

Each year, the BC Museums Association creates a series of BC Museums Week
activities and resources aimed at promoting and highlighting B.C. museums.
Cultural institutions in B.C. are encouraged to join the celebrations by
engaging on social media or hosting their own special events.

In 2018, BC Museums Week will focus on themes of “connectedness” to
showcase the impact of museums in B.C. communities – for example,
collaboration between museums and First Nations to showcase Indigenous
languages and cultural heritage and advance reconciliation, museums as
sites of learning and connection, diversity and inclusion as new drivers,
and innovative uses of technology to connect people with collections. This
theme is chosen to reflect the 2018 theme for International Museum Day:
“Hyperconnected museums: new publics, new approaches.”



“British Columbians already visit the province’s museums, galleries,
cultural centres, science centres and related institutions in droves - both
in person and online. BC Museums Week is an opportunity for everyone to
celebrate the vital role these institutions play in sharing BC’s rich
cultural heritage, enriching our communities and supporting local economies
through jobs and tourism,” says Erica Mattson, Executive Director for the
BC Museums Association.



“B.C. is home to some of the world’s finest museums, art galleries and
heritage sites,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “I
want to thank the BC Museums Association for its dedication to preserving
the cultural legacies of our province, and for providing jobs for thousands
of British Columbians. I encourage people to celebrate BC Museums Week by
visiting their local museum and learning more about B.C.’s fascinating
history and diverse culture.”



*How to join BC Museums Week:*

·         Visit your local museum in person and explore the digital
collections and exhibitions of B.C. museums online. Haida Gwaii Museum, the
Kelowna Art Gallery and the Royal BC Museum are just a few examples of
museums with excellent online collections that can be viewed from anywhere
in the world.

·         Join the conversation on social media by using #bcmuseums and
following @BCMuseumsAssn on Twitter or Facebook.

·         Museums and communities can download posters and resources at the
BC Museums Association website to help promote the week and plan events for
their communities: http://museumsassn.bc.ca.





*Quick facts about BC museums*

·         The BC Museums Association has over 400 members located in
regions across B.C.

·         Total revenues for B.C.’s museums sector are estimated at over
$225 million annually.

·         An estimated 4,400 people are employed by B.C.’s museums sector.

·         Over 19,500 volunteers provide over 1 million hours of volunteer
work each year.

·         B.C. museums attracted over 11 million visitors in 2015, with an
additional 33 million online visits to museums’ digital collections and
programming.

·         19,823 school groups visited B.C. museums in 2015.

·         The collections of B.C. museums include over 4 million artifacts
and objects, 663,896 linear meters of textual records, close to 12 million
graphic materials, over 53,000 natural history/scientific specimens, 36,307
hours of film, video and sound recordings and 2,093 permanent exhibitions.



*Source: Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions: 2017 and
2015 *



*The benefit of museums in B.C.*

·         Museums and related institutions are vital to B.C.’s creative
economy, contributing to jobs, tourism and economic activity in urban and
rural communities across the province.

·         Museums, art galleries, historic sites, cultural centres and
other memory institutions are keepers of legacy, places of learning, and
drivers for the economic and social well-being of our communities. They
connect people to collections, to information, to ideas and to each other.

·         B.C. museums are contributing to repatriation and reconciliation
by working with Aboriginal communities to recognize the unique histories
and experiences of Indigenous peoples and by participating in the
respectful return of ancestral remains and cultural belongings.



*Media contact*

Erica Mattson, Executive Director

BC Museums Association

778.679.4568

[log in to unmask]




-- 
*Erica Mattson*
Executive Director

BC Museums Association || 675 Belleville Street  || Victoria, BC || V8W 9W2
<https://maps.google.com/?q=675+Belleville+Street%C2%A0+%7C%7C%C2%A0Victoria,+BC+%7C%7C%C2%A0V8W+9W2&entry=gmail&source=g>

Direct: 250-356-5694 <(250)%20356-5694> || Office: 250-356-5700
<(250)%20356-5700>  || www.museumsassn.bc.ca

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).