Cultural News

“The City of Rockford revealed its cultural plan this summer. One goal was to get arts financial support from local businesses. One establishment will fulfill this objective. Rockford’s Hard Rock Casino will give $250,000 to the city’s arts and culture sector each year.”

Lord Cultural Resources was engaged by the Rockford Area Arts Council to develop the Rockford Region Cultural Plan to support a thriving arts and culture sector that will benefit all who live and work in the region.

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day in Canada. It is an opportunity to reflect on the painful history and ongoing impacts of colonialism on Indigenous communities.

Orange Shirt Day is a day to remember the violence and tragedies committed at residential schools for Indigenous children. We honour the children who never returned home, survivors, their families and their communities. 

“At the heart of Truth and Reconciliation is the deep acceptance by settlers of the contributions of Indigenous peoples to our quality of life and history.” — Gail Lord, co-founder of Lord Cultural Resources.

“Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels have become key to PEI's tourism economy, drawing thousands of visitor's each year. The Island’s population of 177,000 swells in the summer to more than a half a million visitors, with about six per cent coming just for Anne.”

In 2015 Parks Canada contracted Lord Cultural Resources in association with Architecture49 to develop a Master Plan to guide the redevelopment of Green Gables Heritage Place. The result was a recommendation for a new visitor centre that explored the universal themes of imagination, belonging, beauty, freedom, home and friendship, allowing the interpretation to consider the fictional Anne, the factual Lucy Maud Montgomery, and the landscape that inspired her. We also produced the Interpretation and Exhibition Design Concept and developed the content for the entire Visitor Centre permanent exhibition and outdoor trail experience.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our esteemed colleague Dr. Ahmed Ghazali who tragically died in a car accident in Morocco on July 27th. Ahmed collaborated with Lord on multiple cultural projects since 2017, with his expertise and dedication significantly contributing to our work across continents. His loss is profoundly felt by all who had the privilege of working with him. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and colleagues around the world.

“The government [of Barbados] is racing to recover and safeguard invaluable cultural assets following the catastrophic fire at the Department of Archives. The fate of some of the most precious documents from the island’s 397-year-old past remains unknown. These include the landmark 1661 Slave Code, the proclamation of the abolition of slavery in 1834 and the royal warrant approving Barbados’ independence in 1966.”

Read more about the fire here, here and here.

May was a big month for some well-deserved recognition for projects we’ve had the honour of working on. First up: The Leaf at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg was recognized with a National Award of Excellence from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. Our team worked with Assiniboine Park from 2015-2023 to help plan The Leaf, a new horticultural attraction in Winnipeg. We developed the Visitor Experience Plan, a cohesive narrative that ties all elements of the gardens together and helped guide design and implementation. Learn more

We were also thrilled to learn that Misko-Aki: Confluence of Cultures was made a recipient of the nationally prestigious Canadian Museums Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Exhibitions. In 2020, we were invited by Tim Johnson to join a team to develop the exhibit, with extensive consultation and collaboration with the seven Indigenous Nations connected to the Muskoka region. Learn more

Congratulations to everyone involved!

Manual of Museum Management for Museums in Dynamic Change, the third edition of the classic, is an exciting guide in a time of sweeping changes. Renowned museum planner and Lord President and Co-founder Gail Dexter Lord applies her international experience to create this comprehensive and detailed guide to the tools and strategies needed to successfully address today’s issues and opportunities.

“This is a book for museum leaders, managers, trustees and staff, and all those who care about museums and are curious about how they work. I touch on so many aspects of our work — like exhibitions, strategy, communications and technology. Museums are stable institutions, with enormous amounts of public trust, and museum staff are resilient. At Lord, we provide support and advice to museums and cultural organizations, and now they can now find it within these pages as well.” – Gail Dexter Lord

We hope your month has been full of stories that celebrate and honour the extraordinary women who uplift, inspire and transform the world around them.

Here at Lord, we asked our team to nominate some extraordinary women who are making the world a better place through culture, and we got back some amazing responses.

Read on to learn about a few fantastic women in the cultural sector who we think are truly shifting the landscape.

“Conservationists in New York are ramping up research and preservation efforts of a historic Black community that had all but disappeared, illuminating what some experts say is an ‘antidote’ to ongoing rightwing efforts to keep African American studies out of classrooms.

“’It’s important to tell the story over and over, especially to young people, to help them understand the history and what it meant to have a free Black community in the post-war era,’ Raymond Codrington, president and chief executive officer of the Weeksville Heritage Center, said.” 

Weeksville Heritage Center engaged Lord’s services to facilitate a transformational Strategic and Business Planning process. Our team identified critical issues and key strategic opportunities, assessed facility needs and future expansion opportunities, and created a business plan with realistic operating, revenue, and expense projections. 

Learn more about Weeksville here.

 “As the founder of The Provincial Freeman newspaper, Mary Ann Shadd (1823-93) was the first Black woman to edit and publish a newspaper in North America. The American-born educator and abolitionist moved to Windsor, Canada West (now Ontario), where she established a racially integrated school in 1851, followed by The Provincial Freeman in 1853. We asked Adrienne Shadd, a historian, and her daughter, Marishana Mabusela, both the great-great-great and great-great-great-great-nieces, respectively, of Mary Ann Shadd, about their connection to their famous ancestor. Their answers emphasized how the growing impetus to tell the stories of Black Canadians, particularly Black women whose lives were doubly concealed, can make a difference in a single generation.

"‘Mary Ann Shadd was one among many accomplished ancestors and family members,’ says Mabusela. ‘Seeing her receive such public recognition given what she went through at a time when women – particularly Black women – were not respected, gives me confidence to accomplish my dreams despite the obstacles.’”

Marishana Mabusela is a Senior Consultant at Lord Cultural Resources.