The soul of a community is embodied by culture and the telling of stories, but what happens when the stories told are not aligned with lived experiences? Partnering with the Association of Nova Scotia Museums and communities across Nova Scotia, Dr. Kirrily Freeman is working to help museums unlock their collections and ensure that history is told accurately. Her students gain experience ensuring that the history and heritage of African Nova Scotian, Acadian, Gaelic and Mi’kmaq communities are better represented in Nova Scotian museums.
“Community engagement is integral to the whole process,” says Dr. Freeman. “Communities are telling us what is needed, what is missing and what needs to be done to move forward. This knowledge will influence not just how we proceed but hopefully will shape the future of museum work in the province.”
Maggie MacIntyre, Executive Director of the Association of Nova Scotia Museums, is excited about the short and long-term benefits of this partnership with Saint Mary's.
“Working with students is giving us the capacity to move community-centered work forward,” she says. “In the long run, we see it playing a big role in creating the next generation of museum professionals.”
Dr. Freeman says their priority is to ensure marginalized groups have access to their communities’ histories and material culture. “We all benefit from having a more inclusive, more nuanced, more comprehensive representation of the past.”
Did you know? Dr. Kirrily Freeman is piloting two new courses, ‘Museum Fundamentals: Unlocking Community Collections’ and ‘Heritage Field Placement’, as part of a newly proposed Public Humanities and Heritage major in the Faculty of Arts.