The new Delta museum is looking to be a multi-disciplinary cultural space by the time it opens in 2019 — at least according to conceptual designs released last month.
In February, assistant director of parks, recreation and culture Todd Stewardson gave a presentation to council about the most recent conceptual designs created for the Delta Cultural Centre, located next to city hall on Clarence Taylor Crescent.
The designs focused on how the museum can honour the artifacts in its collection while also telling Delta’s story in a more modern way.
RELATED: New Delta Museum to be focused on engagement
“It’s really a different philosophy on how you deliver museum services,” Stewardson told the Reporter.
“This has to be something the community is actively engaged in and telling the story,” he continued. “We think it’s not going to be as successful if it’s something where, as staff, we are interpreting stories and telling them to a broader community.”
Stewardson said the goal is to enable different geographic, cultural, ethnic and industrial groups to share their own experiences, without it being reinterpreted by official staff members.
Although there are a number of different ways this could look in the museum, one that showcases the impetus behind the idea particularly well is the conceptual design for an exhibit called “Sharing Our Story.”
This features a small room where museum-goers can listen to stories told by other Delta residents, and also record their own interpretations. It has a possibility to include an artifact from the collection, so residents can interact with it and share their reminiscences.
“The integration technology there, [it’s] nothing that’s necessarily earth shattering. Microphones and cameras have been around for a while,” Stewardson said. “But really, the use of them and that overall story is important and where we’re focusing.”
This emphasis on community engagement is also seen in a number of the other exhibit ideas. Combining quilts and technology, for example, creates an opportunity for people to learn about quilting techniques from the past and use a digital kiosk to make it relevant for today.
At the digital kiosk, it might be possible for people to see how different textiles could be made, and then combine colours and patterns to make their own digital version.
“It’s not this abstract concept from 60 or 70 or 80 years ago, it’s something where they can understand it still goes on today, and here’s how it might be relevant to me,” Stewardson said.
In addition, Stewardson’s presentation included conceptual designs for a sand table, so people could explore the role of geography in Delta; a welcome exhibit, introducing people to the cultural centre; an immersive theatre, for 270-degree projections; a City of Tomorrow exhibit, which may use touch screens or projections to show how Delta could change; and traditional display cases for local artifacts.
“We’ve heard pretty clearly from the community that that’s still a very important part of telling Delta’s story, is making sure those artifacts are seen and they are experienced,” he said.
Also included were designs for an art gallery, an essential part of making it a cultural centre rather than just a museum.
“There’s a lot of great artists in the community, and we don’t want to make this just about the heritage piece of it,” Stewardson said. “We also want to have the interpretive piece of how does an artist see that story today, whether they were directly involved with it or not.”
The layout of the new cultural centre is also meant to promote that sense of dynamic engagement and multi-disciplinary cultural aspects.
The open floor plan allows for not only everyday museum use, but also social events. Tables and chairs can be added and moved to allow for meetings, workshops, small concerts and lecture series. This flexible layout will also allow for changes to the museum offerings as time goes on.
In addition, the Delta archives will be incorporated into the cultural centre. Currently only accessible from the east side of the building, the archives will be renovated to have the main entrance accessible from the inside of the cultural centre.
“It’s intended to really have that service pulled together with museum services and form that overall cultural centre,” Stewardson said.
Currently, the city is working on moving from the conceptual designs to detailed plans for the exhibits, as well as coming up with costs estimates.
Bids for the building construction are being accepted until March 23 , and renovations are expected to be completed by the end of 2018. At that time, city staff will be able to start on an implementation plan.
The Delta Cultural Centre is expected to be open midway through 2019.
grace.kennedy@northdeltareporter.com
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