On May 13, the Government of BC announced $7890 million to improve museums in the province.
Or rather, a museum. That money will go to exactly one, the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.
“The new museum will reflect the experiences and perspectives of all who contributed to BC’s history, providing a cultural legacy for generations to come,” say the government press release, pointing out the new museum is made possible through a $789-million investment from the Province.
While it’s good to see the province invest in museums, the province also has more than one museum, and for the dozens of smaller museums across the province, the announcement was a hard pill to swallow.
“Provincially owned collections are held in museums throughout BC who literally receive zero dollars for stewarding them,” says Zena Conlin, executive director of the Tumbler Ridge Museum. “I’m not saying they don’t need a major upgrade, but it’s also frustrating when some of us are barely scraping by.”
The new museum will be one of the first government projects of this size that partners with local First Nations on the project team, participating in both project development and delivery, including design influence to reflect the Lekwungen peoples, and members of the Songhees Nation and Esquimalt Nation.
“For decades, people from British Columbia and around the globe have come to the Royal BC Museum to learn about our special corner of the world. For just as long, the stories told here have failed to accurately reflect our colonial history or include everyone, and priceless collections are now being put at risk in an aging building,” says Premier John Horgan. “That’s why today, we are making this historic investment to build a safer, more inclusive and accessible modern building. Once complete, the new museum will be a flagship destination for tourism and a place where generations to come will learn about the richness and diversity of BC’s history.”
The announcement has been met with considerable opposition, including, not surprisingly, from the opposition. Kevin Falcon, leader of the opposition liberals, has vowed to scrap the project if they get elected.
“At a time when British Columbians are struggling, the highest housing prices, the highest gas prices, the premier thinks this is the right time for a vanity museum project,” Falcon says.
According to the government, the project will take about seven years to complete. Exhibits will be displayed at alternative sites in Victoria, and across the province. “Province wide travelling exhibitions, regional satellite displays and an interactive walking tour in Victoria will help make the museum accessible to all British Columbians,” says the release. “Unique events, community programs and learning experiences will be offered throughout the province, along with innovative virtual programs and digital tools available to all.”
The Tumbler Ridge museum is currently trying to keep its head above water after the Peace River Regional District realized the way it was supporting the museum was not valid, and withdrew funding from the museum until they could do it properly, which has put the museum on a shoestring budget.
The PRRD is in the process of creating a new service function for funding the Tumbler Ridge Museum, but in order to create a new service function, a new bylaw must be created. While the PRRD board was in support of creating those functions, they chose to bring the creation of those bylaws to a public referendum, which means the museum won’t know if they will receive support until after the October 15 Local Government Election.
However, the deadline for establishing a process for 2023 is October 1, two weeks before the election.
That means that even if the motion carries, the museum won’t see any funds from the service function until 2024.
“We’ve left these organizations in the wind for two years,” said Tumbler Ridge Mayor Keith Bertrand at the vote in February. “We’ve supported them to the tune of $660,000 for five or six years, then all of a sudden, nothing. It is absolutely incredible they’ve been able to continue.”
Conlin says that funding is the light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel, especially in face of rising costs. “We’re now into our second year without funding from the PRRD, and we know that funding isn’t going to be there next year, either. The museum is well loved, well respected, and has lots of support, but it feels like that support is mostly just moral support. The outpouring of support is wonderful, it’s great. But at the end of the day, I still have to find a way to pay staff and pay our gas bill, which has increased exponentially this year.”
She says there’s lots of funding for museums, but it is all for special projects. “Projects are comparatively are easy to fund, because there’s a very real product you’re going to get from your investment. But if we don’t have the internal capacity to actually do that work, then it’s just a vicious cycle. We definitely need support for operations.”
And compared to $789 million? Operational funding for the museum is “pennies.” Says Conlin: “It doesn’t take a lot to support museums. And we don’t have any options for operational funding, outside the District and the Regional District. There’s no agency—even one at an arm’s length from the province—where we can apply for operational support.
“I’m happy for them,” she says. “Obviously, they get a big, shiny new building. And I think any money that goes into museums or arts or culture or heritage is a good thing. I’m happy about investment in those things. But what’s most frustrating is the lack of support for the rest of us. Not just for us right there. I mean, there are museums throughout this province that hold provincially owned collections. Most of our collection is provincially owned, because fossils are owned by the province of BC, regardless of where they’re situated. And we don’t get any financial support to steward that collection for them. So, for me, that’s where the frustration comes in.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
