NLIS 3
July 17, 2002
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)
 

Minister officially opens traveling exhibit

Judy Foote, MHA for Grand Bank and Minister of Education, on behalf of Julie Bettney, Minister of Tourism, Recreation and Culture, officially opened two traveling exhibits yesterday at the Southern Newfoundland Seaman�s Museum in Grand Bank.

The two exhibits, Possessions: The Material World of Newfoundland Fishing Families produced by the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador and Swales and Whales: Atlantic Canada�s Sea Mammal Harvest produced by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, are part of a larger joint exhibit production project called Lifelines: Canada�s East Coast Fisheries. In total, there are six traveling exhibits designed to work together and separately to promote a better understanding of the diversity of the fishery in the Atlantic and its impact on the lives of the people of the region.

"The exhibit Possessions is timely given the transformation of the province�s fishery in the last two decades," said Minister Bettney. "It documents the material possessions of Newfoundland fishing families from the 19th through the mid-20th centuries and gives a sense of the broad range of activities the entire family undertook to make a living from the land and the sea. The exhibit chronicles the tradition of self-reliance and innovation that is fundamental to the fishing life and which has allowed many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to adapt and prosper in the changed fishery of today."

Minister Foote is pleased this project is being showcased in Grand Bank. "The Southern Newfoundland Seaman�s Museum was designed to resemble the sails of a schooner reflecting part of the vast and interesting history of Newfoundland and Labrador," said Minister Foote. "The Bank Fishery on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks has been the mainstay of many communities of the District of Grand Bank for hundreds of years. As Minister of Education, I encourage teachers to use these new exhibits and others at our provincial museums to complement our history and social studies curricula."

The exhibit Swales and Whales deals with the issue of maintaining a balance between the needs of marine resources of human needs and technologies. "History shows that this balance is hard to achieve, but the consequences of failure are severe for both people and nature," explained Dr. Peter Rider, curator, Canadian Museum of Civilization. "In the long run, the riches of the sea and of those who harvest them are directly connected."

The exhibit has been presented at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec and will be traveling to museums in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the coming years.

"We are pleased to have worked with the Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador and other Atlantic museums on this important project," said Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. "It is a Canadian first: the first time so many museums worked together to produce complementary exhibitions on a common theme. The project is a very significant accomplishment."

The tour allows Newfoundland and Labrador to share its proud heritage with other Canadians. "It provides us with the opportunity to tell our story to other Atlantic Canadians who have also been impacted by the cod moratorium and have worked to move from the traditional fishery," said Minister Bettney.

Media contact:

Carmel Turpin, Communications, Tourism, Culture and Recreation, (709) 729-0928

Catherina Kennedy, Communications, Education, (709) 729-0048

2002 07 17                             11:15 a.m.


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