Dear Friends and Collegues: I am glad that Lois Irvine called our attention to Duncan Cameron and his extremely important impact on museums. He was, as Lois says, one of the 80´s most influential museum thinkers. He brought about changes in museum´s attitudes toward their communities and the way museums functioned. He was a true scholar, also interested in museum conservation. I do hope that his work may be better known and would appreciate the necessary information on his last publications. Yani Herreman ENCRyM, INAH Mexico From: "Lois Irvine" <[log in to unmask]> To: "International Council of Museums Discussion List" <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 12:43 PM Subject: [AFRICOM-L] Duncan Cameron Dear Friends and Colleagues: Duncan Ferguson Cameron, one of the most influential museum leaders of the 20th century, passed away on April 29, 2006. He began his museum career in 1956 at the Royal Ontario Museum where he worked several years under the close mentorship of Theodore Heinrich. He subsequently formed Janus Museum Consultants whose first major contract was the Ontario Museum of Science and Technology, now the Ontario Science Centre. After restructuring the Canadian Conference of the Arts and working on cultural policy, he returned to the museum as Director of the Brooklyn Museum. In 1977, Duncan became Director of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and was appointed Director Emeritus on his retirement. He is especially well-known for his article "the Museum: The Temple or the Forum" which is still published and cited years later. Throughout his career, he was always concerned with the meaning of museums, 'the why,' and has continued to write, research and present papers to the museum community, most recently to the ICOFOM meeting in Calgary in 2005. He has travelled widely and been active internationally through ICOM and CAM. He was regarded as one of the founders of 'the new museology' along with Georges Henri Rivière, Hugues de Varine. John Kinard and Mario Vasquez. He has spoken and written widely and in 1995 spent a year in New Zealand as a Visiting Teaching Fellow at Massey University where he worked with eight graduate students. He regards this time as one of the most rewarding years of his professional life. It also enormously enriched his personal life as he became very close to the Maori culture and people during that period. Duncan Cameron was the President of the Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) from 1983 to 1989. Under his direction CAM took on new vitality and he remained active in CAM in various positions until his death. In 1985 he was awarded the CMA Award of Merit and in 1992 he was made a fellow of the CMA. He was a Fellow of the Museums Association (UK) and presented with the Cowrie Circle pin as a member of the Commonwealth Association of Museums Cowrie Circle, CAM's highest honour (2000). In 2005 he received the Lieutenant-Governor's Award from the Alberta Museums Association. Duncan Cameron was often controversial and always challenging and provocative. He was for many us the best museum director in Canada, a focused visionary with very high standards, a very wide and expert knowledge of all aspects of museum work and most of all a great mentor and friend who never forgot the people behind the scenes. He will be missed by so many of us around the world whether we were fortunate enough to work closely with him, forged a brief but firm connection during his travels, or appreciated him through his writings. We send heartfelt condolences to his family. May he rest in peace. Lois Irvine Secretary General Commonwealth Association of Museums Lois Irvine Secretary General Commonwealth Association of Museums P.O. Box 30192 Chinook Postal Outlet Calgary, Alberta T2H 2V9 Canada Tel / Fax: 1-403-938-3190 home: Lois Irvine R.R. #1 DeWinton, Alberta T0L 0X0 Canada Tel / Fax: 1-403-938-3190 email: [log in to unmask] _______________________________________________ Change AFRICOM-L subscription options and unsubscribe at: http://list.africom.museum/mailman/listinfo/africom-l - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html