Skip to Content
Citation: 

Terry, Andrea. “From Object to Multicultural Place to Digital Space: The Toronto Museum Project.” In Diverse Spaces: Identity, Heritage and Community in Canadian Public Culture, edited by Susan Ashley, 61-74. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.

Abstract/Summary: 

Over the course of the twenty-first century museums have increasingly been looked upon to help boost a region’s economic outlook and establish areas as “global cities.” Terry traces the development of the Toronto Museum Project (TMP), which offers an interesting view on how administrators use museum spaces in diverse historical contexts and use culture as a resource. This article looks at the various planning stages TMP has gone through since the 1970s, and the numerous transitions in this time. The project started as a way to protect historical objects that represented the people of Toronto, but developed into a social policy tool to promote civic identity. It transformed into a branding exercise for economic development, a creative node and most recently a digital museum. The 1970s foundations of the TMP reflected the newly adopted multiculturalism policy put in place by the Canadian federal government at the time; TMP’s goal was to reflect the progress of the city, where it came from and where it was going, encompassing all ethnic groups that had made Toronto the city it had become. Although the program expanded in the 1980s it abated in the 1990s with the exhibition never receiving a permanent location. Year 2000 brought with it a ‘cultural renaissance’ to Toronto; the city’s Culture Plan, funding museums and performing art centres, was to propel Toronto forward onto the world stage by presenting itself as an international cultural capital. TMP was to receive $20 million from the Toronto City Council, but in the wake of the 2008 recession lost its funding, thus turning towards digitalization. Digitalization has become the latest incarnation; as a digital museum it has liberated objects and encouraged creative curatorial and interpretive endeavours. It has also created a universally accessible space, yet there are still socio-political and economic factors still attached to the creation of this digital space.

Source/Credit: 
Kelsey Wood-Hrynkiw