(rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Alberta Museums Association

Red Deer MAG receives 2022 Leadership Award for Engagement

Sep 16, 2022 | 3:22 PM

The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) has announced the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery (MAG) as the recipient of the organization’s 2022 Leadership Award for Engagement.

Officials say the recognition is for the MAG’s community engagement work with local Indigenous communities and their collaborative work in the development of the Powwow! OhcÎwin the Origins (OhcÎwin) exhibit.

The MAG is described as a leader in community engagement, moving beyond waiting for the community to approach them by asking how they can help members of the community. The AMA says the MAG is an active, long-term supporter of the Remembering the Children Society and were active listeners in the community consultations that took place during the Truth and Reconciliation hearings and ceremonies in Red Deer. When the final Truth and Reconciliation recommendations came forward, the MAG is said to have continued its community engagement work at a steady and increasing pace.

In 2015, the MAG was the host site for Walking With Our Sisters. This community lead ceremony honoured Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children, and the museum has described this ceremony as a catalyst of change for the museum where they handed over leadership and power to their local Indigenous communities.

AMA officials say the MAG staff regularly attend meetings of their Indigenous partner organizations, such as Urban Aboriginal Voices, to ask where they can be in service of their partner organizations programming and community supports. Through all their community engagement outreach, the MAG actively demonstrates the importance of engaging in partnerships with Indigenous communities, says the AMA.

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The Powwow! OhcÎwin the Origins (OhcÎwin) exhibit, which opened in September of 2020, presents a positive and affirming look at contemporary Indigenous traditions. Curated by First Nations experts in powwow, officials say the exhibition shows that powwows, regalia, and Indigenous culture are living, breathing active cultures.

The MAG collaborated with the Indigenous creators of the exhibit, Patrick and Marrisa Mitsuing, and worked with a diverse team of Indigenous artists to assemble the dance regalia on display, demonstrating the power of trust, respect and the evolving nature a collection can take.

Through their community engagement outreach in service to their communities and their approach to Indigenous-led exhibit development, officials say the MAG actively demonstrates the importance of engaging in partnerships with Indigenous communities. The impact of the exhibit is said to extend beyond Red Deer as it is now a travelling exhibit.

Officials say nominations for the Leadership Awards are adjudicated by the Leadership Awards Committee, comprised of Individual Members of the AMA. The Award will be presented at an Awards Ceremony during the AMA’s 2022 Annual Conference Inside Out: Reconsidering Museum Culture.

Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery’s achievements will be celebrated during this Awards Ceremony, taking place on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. in the Betty Andrews Recital Hall at MacEwan University.