NLIS 9
March 21, 2005
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)
Education and outreach to be
hallmarks of The Rooms
Government is strongly committed to The Rooms as a state-of-the-art
facility to preserve and promote the province�s arts and heritage.
The official opening of The Rooms on June 29, 2005 will mark the
beginning of a new era for one of the most unique and exciting
cultural facilities in Canada. Government recognizes the importance
of The Rooms to the entire province and will provide $6 million in
Budget 2005 for the annual operation of the facility.
Paul Shelley, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, said The
Rooms will be a provincial institution. �The Rooms will offer a
combination of excellent programs and services, together with
effective educational and public outreach programs, to make the
institution relevant and meaningful for every school-aged child and
adult in our province� said Minister Shelley. �It will also become a
beacon for thousands of tourists to visit the province each year.�
The $6 million budget will allow for the maintenance or enhancement
of operations of the art gallery, archives and museum in the
preservation and presentation of our cultural resources. The Rooms
will have an expanded education and public outreach program which
will offer innovative programming for students, seniors, interest
groups and the general public. By working with the Department of
Education, The Rooms will also develop learning tools to be used in
schools and curriculum. The Rooms� rich collections and exhibits
will also be available through the Internet and through the
development of a virtual tour.
The Budget will provide funding to effectively highlight and
showcase the unique cultural institution through a comprehensive
marketing strategy. The branding and promotion of the facility will
work to attract the maximum number of visitors to The Rooms.
�The Rooms will enable our rich cultural resources to be easily
accessible,� said Minister Shelley. �People will be able to research
their family histories, view the wonderful work of our finest visual
artists, and see exciting presentations of our rich and diverse
history in museum exhibits. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,
especially our younger people, will grow in their understanding and
appreciation of our unique culture.�
Media contact: Tansy Mundon, Communications, (709) 729-0928,
685-1741
BACKGROUNDER
The Rooms - A place for people
When
families visit The Rooms for the first time during the opening
season of 2005 they will find not just an innovative and inviting
piece of architecture housing three familiar institutions �
Provincial Museum, Provincial Archives and the Art Gallery of
Newfoundland and Labrador � but an impressive new resource designed
to meet visitors� needs. Their experience of The Rooms will start
when they approach the building and discover the historical
significance of the site.
On the four public floors of The Rooms there will be a rich mix of
the cultural resources of the province. On level three, for example,
visitors can view a permanent exhibit from the museum, consult
archival materials in the reference room of the archives, or take in
a temporary exhibit from the art gallery. Visitors will also enjoy
amenities shared by the institutions: a gift shop on level one with
a selection of art, craft and gift items; the 140-seat multimedia
auditorium on level two; and a restaurant on the roof top. The Rooms
is wheelchair accessible, a fact that will be appreciated by
visitors with mobility challenges � especially since the museum and
archives have been previously housed in historic properties that
were not accessible.
Visitors will be excited to learn that in addition to being able to
access all three institutions in one facility, each of the three has
expanded exhibition and program capacity that suit their own
mandates and collections. Both the art gallery and the museum will
have dedicated space for traveling exhibitions, which offer
returning visitors a changing menu of sights and stimulation.
Moveable walls, flexible lighting arrangements and state-of-the-art
humidity and temperature controls within the exhibition halls mean
that The Rooms will be able to attract exhibitions from major
institutions with the most stringent requirements.
The museum will greet visitors with permanent exhibit galleries
telling the story of Newfoundland and Labrador�s people and
environment. It is a tale of convergence of natural elements and of
how generations of resourceful people are connected to this
environment and each other � a story of people shaped by life in
this place. Behind the scenes, expanded office and meeting rooms,
conservation, laboratory, storage and collections areas will create
an inviting work environment for staff and visiting researchers, be
they interested members of the public � who have made an appointment
to examine an artifact from the museum's permanent collection � or
international scholars. Education areas will provide specially
equipped classroom space for large and small group programs.
In its new reference room, the archives will be able to host more
than twice the number of researchers it currently does in the
Colonial Building. On-site storage and processing areas, housing
easily accessible materials, will have tripled. A separate
audio-visual and microfilm reference room will provide quieter and
more effective use of research space for archives clients. Advanced
climate, fire and security controls will accommodate fragile
collections. And in a specially-designed exhibit area, visitors can
look forward to more archival displays drawn from the resources of
the archives.
Visitors to The Rooms will be able to discover a new aspect of the
art gallery on every level of the building. In addition to the
art-related items for sale in the gift shop there will be an art
rental facility on level one as well as a studio classroom for
hands-on activities for school groups, family day fun, child and
adult art workshops. Using the collections centre on level two,
schools and visiting researchers can make appointments to see
artworks that aren't on display. And on the same level, there will
be an artist-in-residence studio that will give the public a
first-hand opportunity to see art being created by a visiting
artist. On level three, the art gallery will display its temporary
exhibitions both contemporary and historic, national and
international art. And on level four, it will showcase art drawn
from its permanent collection. Each floor has flexible gallery
spaces well-equipped for both traditional and new art forms such as
digital projections and installation art. There are also natural
light galleries, on levels three and four, well suited for sculpture
� not to mention the stunning views of downtown and the harbour.
Tourists from across the province or across the globe, visiting
scholars and researchers, or local residents � The Rooms will offer
all its visitors a satisfying experience and many reasons to return.
2005 03 21
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