VANCOUVER, June 25, 2007 - The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, today announced funding of more than $2.1 million for the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology to help support its renewal project.
"For more than 50 years, the Museum of Anthropology has made a significant contribution to education and culture. From its modest beginnings in a basement at the University of British Columbia to its impressive facilities of today, it has provided Canadians with valuable information and access to cultural artifacts from around the world," said Minister Oda. "Canada's New Government is pleased to support the Museum as it embarks on a major expansion project that will extend its role as both a public and a research institution. This expansion will create unprecedented opportunities for broad public access to research, teaching, and public enjoyment."
"This is extraordinarily good news and another vote of confidence for the Museum's current Renewal Project, "A Partnership of Peoples," said museum director Dr. Anthony Shelton. "This award, which supports the Museum's financial contribution to the project, will help us consolidate and extend our profile and relevance to the Province of British Columbia and Canada, while at the same time increasing our international profile. The generous award will support the Museum's objective to enhance access and enjoyment for our visitorship, complementing the Museum's dual role as a research and public institution. The new physical structure will also provide a welcome new cultural space for the 2010 games."
The Museum of Anthropology is Canada's largest teaching museum and is renowned for providing access and insight into the cultures of indigenous peoples around the world. Its mission is to investigate, preserve, and present objects and expressions of human creativity in order to promote understanding of and respect for world cultures. The Museum houses some 535,000 ethnographic and archaeological objects, many of which originate from the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. Massive totem poles, carved boxes, bowls, and feast dishes are featured in the Museum's Great Hall, while smaller pieces in gold, silver, argillite, wood, ceramic, and other materials are exhibited elsewhere in the galleries.
Canada's New Government has provided this funding under the Cultural Spaces Canada Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage. This program supports cultural infrastructure projects that increase access for Canadians to the performing, visual, and media arts, and that improve physical conditions for artistic creativity and innovation. Funding is also provided for the construction and renovation of arts and heritage facilities, for the purchase of specialized equipment, and for feasibility studies and projects to transform buildings into arts or heritage facilities.
Information:
Jean-Luc Benoît
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
819 997-7788
Ginette Montreuil
Regional Manager
Policy and Communications
Western Region
Canadian Heritage
604 666-6504
