Canadian Museums Association facts for kids
 |
|
| Abbreviation | CMA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1947 |
| Type | Non-profit association |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | The advancement of the Canadian museum sector |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario Canada |
| Location |
|
|
Region served
|
National |
|
Membership
|
2000 organizations |
|
Official language
|
English & French |
| Affiliations | CHIN, OMMC and VMC. |
|
Staff
|
20–25 |
The Canadian Museums Association (CMA) is a national group in Canada. It helps promote museums across the country. The CMA works to make sure museums are recognized and can grow. It also helps them stay strong.
The CMA supports almost 2,000 members. These members include many types of places. They are national museums, art galleries, science centres, and aquariums. Also included are archives, sports halls of fame, zoos, and historic sites. These places are all over Canada. They range from big city galleries to small community museums. All of them work to save and share Canada's history and culture with everyone.
Contents
How the CMA Started
In 1932, a visitor from the British Museums Association, Sir Henry Miers, looked at museums in Canada. He thought they needed a lot of improvement. People wanted to form a museum group in the 1930s. But this plan was put on hold because of the Second World War.
After the war, the idea of a museum association became popular. In 1946, Harry O. McCurry from the National Gallery of Canada wrote a letter. He said a Canadian Museums Association was very important. He believed it was needed for museums in Canada to grow properly. He felt Canada needed its own group to deal with its unique museum challenges.
A small group of people from 13 museums met in Quebec City. This meeting happened during a larger museum conference. The Canadian Museums Association officially started on September 10, 1947.
Founding Members of the CMA
Many important people helped start the CMA. They came from different museums across Canada. Here are some of the founding members and their museums at that time:
- F.J. Alcock (National Museum of Canada)
- E.C. Cross (Royal Ontario Museum)
- R.E. Crouch (London Public Library and Art Museum)
- Donald K. Crowdis (Provincial Museum of Nova Scotia)
- J.R. Dymond (Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology)
- W.B. Hurd (McMaster University)
- Dr. T.F. McIlwraith (Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology)
- Elsie M. Murray (Museum of Indian Archaeology, University of Western Ontario)
- H.O. McCurry (National Gallery of Canada)
- Paul Rainville (Musée de la Province de Québec)
- Dr. E.S. Moore (Royal Ontario Museum of Geology and Mineralogy)
- W.A. Squires (New Brunswick Museum)
- Alice Johannsen Turnham (McGill University Museums)
Eight other people were also there and are known as founding members.
Working with Indigenous Communities
In 1988, there was a discussion about an exhibition called The Spirit Sings. This led to a special group being formed. This group looked at how Indigenous peoples were involved in museums. They also looked at how museum collections and old artifacts were shown.
In 1992, the CMA worked with the Assembly of First Nations. They published a report called Turning The Page. This report gave ideas on how to return human remains and sacred objects to Indigenous communities.
In 2015, the CMA was asked to play a special role in reconciliation. This was part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action.
- Call to Action #67 asked the government to give money to the CMA. This money would help the CMA review museum policies with Indigenous peoples. The goal was to see how well museums followed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
- Call to Action #68 asked the government and the CMA to create a special funding program. This program would be for projects about reconciliation. This was to mark Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.
In 2018, the CMA received money to create a report. This report was about putting UNDRIP into practice in Canadian museums. The CMA released its report, Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums, in 2022.
What the CMA Does
The CMA is a non-profit group that helps public museums in Canada. It works to improve museums and how they are run. It also helps museum workers get better at their jobs. The CMA is a registered charity.
How the CMA is Run
The CMA is led by a Board of Directors. These directors are elected. The CMA also has an office in Ottawa with staff who help run things.
Since it started, the CMA has had several executive directors. The current executive director is Janis Kahentóktha Bomberry, who started in 2022.
Services for Members
The CMA publishes a magazine called Muse. It comes out every two months and is in both English and French. The CMA also helps its members in many ways. They speak up for museums to the government. They offer an insurance program and give out awards.
The association often talks to government groups about heritage issues. The CMA also hosts Canadian Museums Day. This event celebrates how museums help society.
Since 1996, the CMA has helped run the Young Canada Works program. This program gives money to museums to hire summer students and interns. This helps young people gain experience in the museum field.
The CMA also holds big national conferences each year. These conferences happen in different cities across Canada. They also have special conferences on museum topics. These include traveling exhibitions and how to design new exhibits.
Working with Other Groups
The CMA works with many other groups. These groups are related to arts and heritage across Canada. Some of their formal partners include ICOM Canada and the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization. They also work with provincial and territorial museum associations.
See also
In Spanish: Asociación de Museos Canadienses para niños
