Plans for P.E.I. museum gathering dust

Published by The Guardian Oct 27, 2011

Nancy MacPhee

Members of the board of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation listen to a question from the crowd during Tuesday night’s annual meeting. From left are chair, Harry Kielly, vice-chair, Jesse Francis, and executive director, Dr. David Keenlyside.

© Nancy MacPhee/Journal Pioneer

SUMMERSIDE – Plans for a provincial museum are at a standstill and the Province isn’t saying whether money for the project is in the upcoming capital budget.

The issue was at the forefront at Tuesday night’s annual meeting of the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation, the group lobbying for a facility to house and showcase artifacts now stored at its collections facility in Charlottetown.

That facility, known as the artifactory, is bursting at the seams. The foundation has recently had to rent a 3,000-square-foot space at a cost of $27,000 a year.

Newly minted Tourism and Culture Minister Robert Henderson said his government is committed to the concept of a provincial museum.

“We’re struggling with trying to come up with the resources to try and make this a reality,” said Henderson following the meeting. “It is more than just displaying of the artifacts; it’s also the storage of artifacts.”

The foundation’s executive director, Dr. David Keenylside, said more than 80,000 artifacts are currently being stored at its collections facility and 20,000 are on loan to its seven sites throughout the province.

He admitted the artifactory has its limitations, space being the main one. In the past there’s also been minor flooding at the facility.

Keenlyside said the holding facility is only open to the public by appointment.

“You want it to be accessible but at the same time you want it to be secure and environmentally sound and well organized so you can find things.”

The ideal scenario would be to have one building to house artifacts and include a museum where collections could be displayed.

“Right now there is no place on the Island for kids or adults or visitors to go and see what the Island story is,” said Keenlyside. “They see it in bits and pieces. It’s something that really needs to be here.”

He said the foundation has come up with various options, including using existing space for the museum, and building a new facility, ranging in cost from $10 million to $55 million.

“We don’t know in the final analysis if we will get all, or some, or part.”

Henderson admitted that it all comes down to money and is hopeful his government can at least come up with a short-term solution.

“We’re hoping we can find some possible partners for the provincial museum concept,” he said. “It’s important to the preservation of a lot of our Island artifacts and history.

“We’re hoping to bring down a capital budget in the legislature this fall. At this point in time I can’t divulge if it is or isn’t going to be in it.”