NLIS 6 June 29, 2006 (Tourism, Culture and Recreation) The following is being distributed at the request of The
Rooms Corporation: The Rooms celebrates first-year
anniversary with four days of activities Tom
Hedderson, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, along with Dean
Brinton, CEO, The Rooms Corporation, kicked off anniversary celebrations
today and remarked upon the milestones and successes of The Rooms in its
inaugural year of operation. �In
a very short time, The Rooms has become the envy of cultural
institutions across the country and has firmly established itself as the
hub of our arts and cultural community,� Minister Hedderson said
during a ceremony at The Rooms today. �Last
year, we opened this state-of-the-art facility bringing the Since
its grand opening on Over the past year, The Rooms hosted numerous prestigious conferences and events, including the first ArtsWork Conference for arts educators across the province and Celebrate Nunatsiavut, which brought Inuit leaders and performers to the island to share their culture with the public. The Rooms also partnered with the Association of Heritage Industries to host the very first Celebrating our Living Heritage conference dedicated to exploring ways to preserve our intangible heritage. The
art gallery has worked diligently to attract prestigious exhibits, such
as the one-of-a-kind installation by author Douglas Coupland and the Christopher Pratt retrospective from the National Gallery of
Canada. Over the past year,
visitors have been able to enjoy exhibits by local artists, such as the Silver
and Stone: the art of Michael Massie currently on display, alongside
contemporary international exhibits never before available in the
province, such as the Comharsana Beal Dorais (Next Door Neighbours)
from the With
its wide range of themed activities for the pubic, The Rooms has become
a popular destination on weekends and holidays, particularly for
families. During the Christmas season last December, for example, kids
lined up for musical and mummering performances, storytelling by Kevin
Major, and craft-making classes. In
the past year, there have been over 40 lectures, �Show-and-Tells�
and workshops drawing upon the expertise of the local arts and cultural
community. This
month, The Rooms also opened its gift shop, which offers products
related to exhibits and collections, and a deli-style restaurant with a
view unparalleled in the city. �The
Rooms has been very busy over the past year and we haven�t had much
opportunity to look back and take stock of all that has gone on,� said
Mr. Brinton. �We are very
proud of our accomplishments and we are very excited to celebrate with
the public and the community who share in our success; however, we must
not forget that much of our work happens behind the scenes.� Mr.
Brinton went on to say that a large part of The Rooms mandate is to
preserve and protect the province�s prized cultural artifacts by
ensuring that they are protected in state-of-the-art facilities to
safeguard our culture for future generations. Recently, for example, The
Rooms Provincial Museum partnered with Canadian Heritage and the Innu
Nation to acquire an 18th century
painted caribou-skin coat - of which there are approximately just 100 in
existence
�
to ensure this significant piece of history is retained and
preserved for the people of the province. �The
Rooms plays an integral role in protecting Newfoundland and Labrador�s
unique cultural heritage, through its collections maintenance and
preservation, collections cataloguing, acquisitions, research and so
on,� added Minister Hedderson. �It
has been and will continue to serve as an invaluable educational
resource for our young people, enabling them to develop a greater
understanding of their history as well as deeper sense of pride in their
province.� The
Rooms secured its first major corporate sponsor, BMO Financial Group, to
support its education and outreach activities. Plans
are now in place to develop more virtual exhibits, traveling exhibits
and to bring more activities into the local communities. �In
the coming year, The Rooms will be turning more of its attention towards
its education and outreach activities,� said Mr. Brinton. �We�ve
already received $250,000 from BMO to assist us with this which will
make a big difference in our goal of making The Rooms accessible to all
residents across the province. We
will continue to offer free admission to curriculum-linked school tours,
and we are already working with the Department of Education to develop a
learning resource web site for teachers and educators to provide them
access virtually to items from The Rooms collections.� In
fact, the archives have already developed two virtual exhibits �
Distinguished Service: The Royal The
public is encouraged to take part in the celebrations over the next four
days. The Rooms Provincial
Archives, For more information, visit The Rooms web site at www.therooms.ca or call (709) 757-8000. Photo
#1: Tom
Hedderson, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, along with Dean
Brinton, CEO, The Rooms Corporation Susanne Hiller, Tourism, Culture and Recreation, (709) 729-0928,
728-7762 BACKGROUNDER
Thursday,
June 29
Friday,
June 30 Green
Legacy:
Explore the beauty and vulnerability of some of The
Curwen Exhibit:
See the diaries and papers of Dr. Curwen and his
work with the International Grenfell Association, highlighting his
discussions on fishing rooms. The
Rooms Provincial Archives, Reference Room, Level 3. Rooms:
Saturday,
July 1 Celebrating
Brad Gushue: Take
in our very special Artfulnoon
Tea: Sunday,
July 2
2006 06 29 2:35 p.m. |
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