ARTS, CULTURE & HERITAGE

Fall/Winter 2014/2015

Municipality of Sioux Lookout Arts, Culture & Heritage Newsletter

New Era for the Sioux Lookout

Community Museum!

Devote yourself
to your
community

Museum Update
It has been a very exciting summer and autumn for the Sioux
Lookout Community Museum! Thanks to Councils vision, we are
proud to announce the Museums new home on the second floor of
the Heritage Railway Station. In addition to the excitement about
the new space, in October the Museum was presented with the Ontario Museum
Associations
Award
of
Excellence
in
Publications, which recognizes the Museums innovative Mobile
App. And finally, People First: Proud History, Bright Future the
oral history project is now underway with interviews taking place
throughout November.

around you &

devote yourself
to creating
something that
gives you purpose
and meaning Mitch Albom

Read on for more details and be sure to visit us soon!

Stu Finn, Museum Coordinator

In This Issue

Peggy Sanders and Vera Kameda-Lacroix explore a display on the Elliot Brothers at
the Community Museum Grand Re-Opening on August 5th, 2014 at the Heritage
Railway Station. Photo Credit: Tim Brody/Sioux Bulletin

Culture Days, 2014

Sioux Lookout
Community Museum
Grand Re-Opening

Proud History, Bright

Future - The Oral
History Project

Arts, Culture & Heritage

inspired Community
Mural

Ripples: Sioux Lookouts

Arts & Culture Directory

Thank-you,
Sioux Lookout,
for participating
in Culture Days,
2014!

Sioux Lookout artist, Curtis MacDonald, poses next to his works at the Art Exhibition component of
the Culture Days Kick-Off Celebrations at the Heritage Railway Station on September 26th, 2014.
Photo courtesy of Curtis MacDonald.

Culture DaysSeptember 26th-28th, 2014

This years Culture Days Celebrations were truly inspiring. With six activities taking
place in Sioux Lookout over the three day span (September 26th, 27th and 28th), there was a
variety of artistic, culturally diverse and inclusive activities available for the community.
Friday, September 26th included a Culture Day at the Nishnawbe-Gamik Friendship Centre,
a Music Jam at Queen Elizabeth District High School, a Community scrapbooking session at
the Sunset Womens Aboriginal Circle, and finally the Culture Days Kick Off Celebrations at
the Heritage Railway Station in the evening. The Kick Off Celebrations featured a
multi-faceted Arts & Culture open house
that included Sioux Lookouts Monthly
Open Stage event, hosted by local
musicians Klaus Rossler and Mel
Stewart, an art exhibition featuring the
work of local Artists and artisans, a

* A sincere thanks
to all of the artists,
artisans and
community
organizers that
helped to bring
Culture Days to
Sioux Lookout for a
second year!
Thank you so
much, also, to
everyone who
joined us for the
Culture Days Kick
Off Celebrations on
September 26th at
the Heritage
Railway Station. It
was truly a magical
night!
- Reilly Scott,
Arts & Culture Coordinator

Museum open house and art installations by local artists Nadine Arpin and
Hana Beitl. The event was hugely successful with over 120 people in attendance throughout the evening. Saturday, September 27th events included a
Latin dance and Zumba party at the Heritage Railway Station presented by
ONYX Dance and Fitness Studio as well as a Minecraft Party and Creative
Consultation provided by the Sioux Lookout Public Library. Sunday evening
offered a traditional Mennonite Hymn Sing at the Believers Fellowship
Church. A yearly celebration of Arts & Culture, Culture Days promotes arts
and cultural recognition in cities and towns across Canada by encouraging
Canadian communities to offer free events and activities over a three day
weekend at the end of September. 2014 marks Sioux Lookouts second year
Natasha Quequish performs at the Open Stage
component of the Culture Days Kick Off Celebrations joining in the Culture Days festivities and the Municipal Cultural Divisions
on September 26th, 2014 at the Heritage Railway
second year facilitating its delivery.
Station. Photo Credit: Geoff Shields/Sioux Bulletin.
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The Community Museum Grand Re-Opening, August 5th, 2014.

Community Members view an exhibit on traditional Anishinaabe beading at the

Museum Grand Re-Opening on August 5th at the Heritage Railway Station.
Photo Credit: Tim Brody/Sioux Bulletin

The Sioux Lookout Community Museum finally has a

new home! On August 5th, during the 2014 Blueberry
Festival, the Museum held its Grand Re-Opening at its
new location on the 2nd level of the Sioux Lookout
Heritage Railway Station. More than 200 people
attended the opening ceremonies, including members
of the public, the Mayor and members of Council. The
ceremonies began with remarks by Mayor Leney and
included a presentation by Garnet Angeconeb, a local
activist and residential school survivor, who offered the
museum a pair of model snowshoes in honour of the
Grand Re-Opening. This event was also honoured by
the presence of Peggy Sanders, who was one of the
original founders of the Sioux Lookout Community
Museum when it opened its doors as part of the Sarah
Vaughan Public Library in 1967.The new Museum
space allows us to display the artifacts in a beautiful
and historically significant setting. In preparation for the

Museum relocation, some renovations were made to the space. These

physical changes involved the application of a UV-filtering coating to all of
the windows in the Museum that will protect the artifacts and equipment from
harmful light, the installation of light-blocking shades, and LED track lighting
that was installed in the Mountain-View Gallery in order to provide
appropriate lighting and atmosphere for the displays. Feedback regarding
the Grand Re-Opening and the Museum has been overwhelmingly positive.
Goals for the new year are to rotate the exhibits in order to keep the space
fresh and to encourage visitors to attend regularly, as well as to continue in
the development of sustainability plans to ensure the presence of the
Community Museum in Sioux Lookout for many years to come.
For more information on the Sioux Lookout Community Museum, including
hours of operation and access to virtual exhibit displays, visit the Museum
website at: www.siouxlookoutmuseum.ca or the Municipality of Sioux
Lookouts website at: http://www.siouxlookout.ca/en/discover-the-hub/
museum.asp

The Mountain-View Gallery at the Sioux Lookout

Community Museum located at 53 Front Street in the Heritage Railway Station, 2nd level.
Photo Credit: R. Scott

Sioux Lookout Museum receives award for excellence!

The Sioux Lookout Community Museum is the proud recipient of the Ontario Museum Associations Award of Excellence in Publications, in recognition of its Mobile App! The Ontario Museum Network has said: The Sioux Lookout Community Museums Mobile
App project is a great example of a small community museum leveraging scarce resources and using cutting-edge technology to stay
relevant and to engage new demographics (in particular, youth) in its community. The [App] is beautiful, intuitive to navigate, and it is
the first of its kind among museums in Northwestern Ontario. We could not be more honoured to have received this award! The App
is available for free, for Apple devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and Android phones and tablets in Apples App Store and through
Google Play.

Proud History, Bright Future - The Oral History Project

The Museums oral history project, called People First: Proud History, Bright Future is now underway! We are currently in the
process of training our student volunteers to conduct and record interviews with local Seniors and Elders. The interviews will taking
place throughout the month of November. Another very exciting aspect of the project will be the digitization (and therefore
preservation) of many interviews that were recorded in years-gone-by. We are so excited about the potential to incorporate the
recordings into future Museum projects, exhibits and programming initiatives.
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The Sioux Lookout Museums Grand

Re-Opening Community inspired mural

Contact Us
Please contact us for
more information on the
Sioux Lookout Community
Museum and/or arts,
culture & heritage
initiatives.
Municipality of Sioux
Lookout
Box 158, 25 Fifth Avenue
Sioux Lookout, ON
P8T 1A4

This mural, created by visitors to the Municipal Cultural Division/Sioux Lookout Community
Museum and inspired by the question In my Community Museum Id Like was on display in
the Boreal Community engagement room on the 2nd level of the Heritage Railway Station
during the months of August and September, 2014. Thanks for your feedback, everyone!

At our Grand Re-Opening and continuing throughout August and September, 2014 we asked
visitors to the Community Museum to complete the sentence In my Community Museum, Id
like in the form of a community mural. The results were inspiring! What began as a blank
canvas on the wall of our Boreal Community Engagement Room turned into a rich and diverse
work of art created by the community, offering us key insights into participants interests,
aspirations and desires for Sioux Lookouts museum. Recommendations included: stories and
memories collected from visitors, music, dance, art exhibits, biographies of settlers and First
Nations Peoples, clothing, food preparation, activities for seniors/elders, photographs,
archaeology, books and the list goes on and on! The feedback given through this mural has
been recorded and will continue to be reviewed as a means of providing ideas for exhibits,
events and other experiences in the Community Museum space that fulfill the desires of the
larger community. It is our hope that we will able to continue to incorporate interactive
activities, such as this, into the museum space and programming mandate in the future.
Thanks again, everyone, for your participation!

Brian MacKinnon
Deputy Clerk, Culture &
Communications manager
bmackinnon
@siouxlookout.ca
(807) 737-2700 ex. 2243

Ripples: Sioux Lookouts Arts & Culture Directory 2014/2015

New Yorkmixed media on canvas by local artist and Sioux

Lookout resident, Angela Monheim.

Last minute finishing touches to Ripples: Sioux Lookouts Arts &

Culture Directory, 2014/2015 are currently underway! The
directory, a project founded in 2010 as a collaboration between the
Sioux Lookout Creative Arts Circle and the Municipality of Sioux
Lookout, was created when the need to showcase Sioux Lookouts
many talented artists and artisans became recognized. For
2014/2015, the Municipal Culture Division has endeavored to
continue the efforts to actively promote and enhance the artistic
community of Sioux Lookout by updating the directory. In this third
volume, the capacity of the directory has expanded to include
cultural organizations, celebrations and arts and culture-related
businesses as well as artists and artisans. Hard copies of the
directory will be available in the new year at the Municipal Culture
Divisions office on the 2nd level of the Heritage Railway Station by
donation to the Sioux Lookout Community Museum. A downloadable
digital version of the directory will also be available in early 2015 on
the Municipality of Sioux Lookouts website, under Arts & Culture:
www.siouxlookout.ca/en/discover-the-hub/Arts-and-Culture.asp
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