The following is being distributed at the request of The Rooms Corporation:

The Rooms Offers a First Look at the New
Husky Energy and Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery Spaces

The Rooms is excited to offer the public a first look at the new Husky Energy and Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery Spaces and will host an open house this Sunday, February 5, 2012 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., to observe the work to date.

In March 2010, The Rooms announced the development of 7,000 square feet of exhibition space. Origin Studios, the design firm responsible for the exhibition designs, will unveil the intended concepts for the two galleries located within this exhibition space. The Rooms is very pleased with the response received from the public to our community consultation over the past year and we would like to invite them once again to attend our open house and offer feedback on the initial concepts presented by Origin Studios.

Construction work began in September 2010, with Origin Studios coming onboard in September of 2011 after successfully winning an international call for proposals. Guest curators representing the province’s aboriginal communities have been working directly with our exhibit design team. In addition an external advisory committee has provided advice on content development and exhibition design.

The project is currently one of the largest museum construction projects of its kind taking place in Canada.

Origin Studios, an exhibition design firm based in Ottawa, has extensive experience in exhibition planning and schematic design services and has a client list that includes The Royal Ontario Museum, The Canadian Museum of Nature, The Canadian War Museum and The Bata Shoe Museum. Origin’s work has ranged from temporary and travelling exhibits to large permanent installations such as the Husky Energy and Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Galleries at The Rooms.

Upon completion in 2013, The Husky Energy Gallery will present an exhibition showcasing the province’s ethnological and historical artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries; provide the provincial orientation point for the history and culture of our province as experienced by the Inuit, Innu, Mi’kmaq, the people of NunatuKavut, European and other settlers; and, trace 300 years of history through artifacts, historical documents, as well as historic and contemporary art from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery, built above the Husky Energy Gallery, will house an exhibition on the contemporary history of Newfoundland and Labrador. The 1,400 square foot exhibition will capture Newfoundland and Labrador’s collective history through the narratives and intangible heritage that contributes to our unique sense of identity as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

The open house will take place on level four of The Rooms in the Husky Energy and Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery Spaces. Refreshments will be served and media are invited to attend.

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Media contact:
Deanne Fisher
Director of Marketing and Development
The Rooms Corporation
709-757-8070
deannefisher@therooms.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Guest Curators
Representative appointed by the Innu Nation: Peter Armitage
Representative appointed by the Nunatsiavut Government: Valeri Pilgrim
Representative appointed by the Newfoundland Mi’kmaq: John Jeddore
Representative appointed by the NunatuKavut Community Council: Greg Mitchell

Members of the Exhibition Project External Advisory Committee

2012 02 02                           9:35 a.m.