“The former Mohawk Institute Residential School, in Brantford, Ont., operated from 1831 until 1970 and was the site of immense suffering for some 15,000 Indigenous children who were forced to attend the facility. Today, it's part of the Woodland Cultural Centre, and those behind the project are working to turn the space into what its executive director calls a ‘connection for survivors.’”

Lord Cultural Resources is part of an Indigenous-lead team that is developing a detailed interpretive plan, exhibition content, and design for the Mohawk Institute Residential School as well as an update to the operations plan and projections. 

“Rockford’s historic Midway Theater was home to decades of entertainment and memories before it closed around 2006. Right now, there are no definite plans for a revitalization, but some residents are optimistic for a revival.”

Lord Cultural Resources has been 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.

“The artist’s sprawling exhibition at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx asks visitors to reflect on beauty, history, climate, and uncomfortable truths.”

The Lord Visitor Experience team worked with the staff at NYBG to clarify and amplify the NYBG Foodways concept into a major exhibition titled Around the Table: Stories of the Food We Love. The exhibition opened in 2022.  

“In the early 1990s, the American street artist Brian Donnelly, who works under the moniker KAWS, was gifted an illicit master key that could unlock almost any advertising display in Manhattan. Not long after, New Yorkers began noticing cartoonish figures meticulously painted atop upscale ads in bus stations and billboards across the city. This month, his reach gets amplified even more in Canada, as the Art Gallery of Ontario is set to present a cross section of his work in its exhibition, KAWS: FAMILY.”

Lord Cultural Resources developed key planning objectives, assumptions and opportunities in response to the AGO’s vision for the new Learning Centre. Lord Cultural Resources also worked on the redevelopment of the Weston Family Learning Centre (WFLC) to expand on the AGO’s vision of providing substantial educational spaces for art students, residency for artists, and to improve visibility for the Learning Centre.

This fall and winter, Toronto’s Museum of Contemporary Art is a must-visit destination for any art-viewing excursion.

In 2009 Lord Cultural Resources led MOCA through a Strategic Planning exercise. Later, we were invited to develop a Board Development Strategy to ensure a sustainable and strengthened Board that enabled the Museum to transition into its next phase of growth.

“The Infinities Commission will support ‘immersive projects that sit outside conventional artistic categories,’ with the inaugural edition launching in performance space The Tanks in spring 2025.”

Lord Cultural Resources was initially commissioned to study the quality of experience the Gallery was providing its visitors as part of Tate’s plan to establish two distinct institutions: a Museum of British Art (Tate Britain) and a Museum of Modern Art (Tate Modern). Later, LCR carried out a Visitor Services Review for Tate Modern and was commissioned to conduct a new Visitor Audit for both Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

“Australia has overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people in a referendum. All six states voted No to a proposal to amend the constitution to recognise First Nations people and create a body for them to advise the government.”

“At science museums, we spend considerable time and effort instilling the notion in our visitors that mistakes are not something to shy away from, but opportunities for learning and growth. But we don’t always seem to embrace that idea for ourselves. Too often, we fear making mistakes of our own and avoid new ideas and the risks that can come with them. This is especially true when it comes to DEAI initiatives.”

“New York’s City Council is considering a bill that could change the face of monuments across the five boroughs. The legislation would mandate that commemorations of enslavers, people who benefited economically from slavery, and those who enacted violence against Indigenous people ‘or other crimes against humanity’ either be removed or contextualized with plaques.”

“Tim Poitras from the Muscowpetung First Nation is a fourth-generation residential school survivor. He was joined by his relation and hip-hop artist Brad Bellegarde from the Little Black Bear First Nation, whose stage name is InfoRed, for an event hosted by the Royal Saskatchewan Museum to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday.”

“Seas of orange flooded events across the country as Canadians gathered to acknowledge systemic oppression of Indigenous people and observe the third annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.”

“Director Susan Fisher Sterling of the newly reopened National Museum of Women in the Arts speaks with Artnet's Sarah Cascone about the past, present, and future of the institution.”

“The long-awaited Young V&A has launched in London and it heralds a shift in the way museums are designed for young people. There are no fusty statues or ‘don’t touch’ signs here – instead it features a striking red performance stage, a giant marble run, a spiral staircase informed by optical illusions, an open design studio and exhibits that range from a Syrian rattle dating back to 2300 BC to Team GB medallist Sky Brown’s old skateboard.”

“‘The End of Fossil Fuel‘ looks at the industry’s history of racism and deception, and the ‘intertwined histories of inequality and the climate crisis’. The exhibition documents the origins of the fossil fuel industry, and its creation and exploitation of sacrifice zones, a product of environmental racism.”

“Indigenous music, learning, dancing, and a new exhibit launch were just some of what was available at THEMUSEUM on Saturday.”

“Partisan battles over America’s past, and divisions among Latinos, are affecting this new institution set to be built on the National Mall.”

“The Swiss architect of one of the most polarizing museums in the country says his Los Angeles design has been significantly streamlined. So why have costs kept rising?”

“After decades of housing stained-glass windows commemorating the Confederacy, the Washington National Cathedral in DC has unveiled a new window installation created by artist Kerry James Marshall that centers the struggles of the racial justice movement and the resiliency of Black American people throughout time.”

“Two surveys supported by the National Endowment for the Arts show that in-person art activities remain below pre-Covid levels, while many Americans continue to experience culture virtually.”

 "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi as 'exemplary model for active exchange between faiths,' during his Middle East tour. Taking to his official social media handle, he said it's a 'true testament to the UAE’s commitment to peaceful coexistence among Abrahamic faiths. This is what the future of the region should look like.'"

This demonstrates the important role of cultural spaces as places of thoughtful convening.

“Here are some highlights to look forward to this fall season, including Simone Leigh, Maremi Andreozzi, photos from the Library of Congress archive, a large Native art show curated by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and more.”

“The City of St. Catharines and First Ontario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) have been nationally recognized for Celebration of Nations gathering of Indigenous arts, culture and heritage. They jointly accepted a Cultural Event Award from the Creative City Network of Canada (CCNC), alongside the gathering’s Artistic Director Michele-Elise Burnett and Artistic Producer Tim Johnson.”

We are proud to have Tim Johnson on our team in the role of Indigenous Advisor. 

“From students toppling and beheading the statue of Egerton Ryerson to protestors tearing down monuments of Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and Sir John A. Macdonald, the summer of 2021 ignited an era of reckoning and re-evaluation of our past. This powerful new documentary examines these events and offers compelling perspectives on how these statues could symbolize dreams or nightmares, depending on your point of view.”

“Destruction of the Ukrainian dam unleashed a catastrophic flood—and surfaced centuries of cultural heritage. Now there’s a call not to rebuild it.”

“Run by Emily Carr University of Art and Design and IM4 Lab, the Indigenous Virtual Production program lets students explore new visual styles as they learn to use cutting-edge technology.”

“The pandemic-induced craze for ‘immersive Van Gogh’ experiences has waned, forcing one leading provider to file for bankruptcy earlier this year. Now, for its new exhibition dedicated to the beloved Post-Impressionist, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris is trying out an even more high-tech approach—involving virtual reality, A.I., and NFTs—to try and reignite some of that same enthusiasm.”

“A virtual museum in the popular game counteracts players who deny or distort the history of antisemitism.”

“An anonymous tipster called Art Recovery International to admit their uncle had stolen the painting from a German museum.”

“The institution’s adoption of a new policy regarding the display of human remains led them to the permanent removal of the diorama.”

“The American Museum of Natural History holds 12,000 bodies — but they don’t want you to know whose.”

“Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is planning a virtual museum of stolen cultural objects. The digital experience was first announced in September last year. It will launch in 2025 with 600 works of art on the list of Interpol, the international police organisation.”

“There’s more restitution news from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which last week announced the return of a 13th-century wooden temple strut and Vishnu Flanked by Lakshmi and Garuda, an 11th-century stone sculpture, to the Nepalese government.”

“Conservator Rosa Lowinger reflects on her time working at LACMA in the 1980s in an excerpt from her new memoir, Dwell Time: A Memoir of Art, Exile, and Repair.”