Provincial museum would give a provincewide perspective

Letter to the editor - The Guardian - July 17, 2007
EARLE LOCKERBY
Darnley

Editor:
Opposition Leader Pat Binns' remarks of regret concerning an artifactory in Murray River ("Decision to pull plug on artifactory 'terribly disappointing': Binns", The Guardian, July 3) confirm what has been transparently obvious all along: the facility was first and foremost a vehicle for "greatly enhancing a rural P.E.I. region", namely his own riding. The benefit to the provincial artifact collection was secondary.

His expressed fear that a provincial museum will threaten the locally-owned community museums throughout the province is both disturbing and indicative of a lack of understanding of the role and purpose of a provincial museum.

Has he ever had a close look at the provincial museums in our neighbouring provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick?

Binns is quoted as stating "in my mind the provincial museum exists through the seven current provincial sites around the province." These facilities, though valuable, in no way constitute a provincial museum. They portray several particular and limited heritage themes, namely shipbuilding, the railway on the Island, the fishery, agriculture, a pioneer community and Acadian culture.

In which provincial facility may one view a portrayal of the Island's musical heritage? Its aviation history? The history of communications with the mainland? The geological and other natural history of the Island? Our aboriginal history and culture? The list goes on and on.

A provincial museum will comprehensively showcase the full spectrum of the Island's rich heritage and culture, utilizing artifacts from the provincial collection, much of which resides in a warehouse known as the artifactory. I believe it is feasible to integrate the existing provincial sites into a proper provincial museum framework such that they play a complementary role to a large centralized facility.

I do not agree with Pat Binns' view that a provincial museum will be a threat to the small, community museums. I happen to be on the board of directors of such a museum, the Keir Memorial Museum at Malpeque, and I can assure him that I do not see our museum as being in any way threatened.

On the contrary, I would expect my fellow directors would welcome a new provincial museum, as I believe would be the case for heritage-minded and culturally-minded Islanders in general.

For the most part, the community museums seek to portray the history of their own immediate areas, not that relating to the Island as a whole

That the Binns government could have been so out of touch with the museological needs of the province is a measure of its failure to consult broadly with Islanders, and in particular with the heritage and culture community.

During the weeks and months following the announcement of a new artifactory at Murray River, several writers of letters to the editor of The Guardian urged the Binns government to take a step back, and to enter into consultations with the heritage and culture community with a view to developing a broad strategic plan for a provincial museum system which would well serve the Island as a whole over the coming decades. This plea fell on deaf ears, as the government was hell-bent on locating a new artifact storage facility at Murray River.

It is to be hoped that Premier Robter Ghiz and Cultural Affairs Minister Carolyn Bertram will begin the process of delivering a Provincial Museum and new artifactory in an integrated fashion, by obtaining the views of Islanders on what is required - and not just the views of the board of directors of Museum and Heritage P.E.I., an organization which happens to be a provincial Crown corporation.

Earle Lockerby has been a director of the Keir Memorial Museum in Malpeque for several years.