Re-imagining History

From the desk of Tim Willis,
Director of Exhibitions
and Visitor Experience

‘Challenge’ is a rather overused term these days – often a euphemism for ‘problem’. But I have to say we have a beauty of a challenge right now.

 We’ve just begun to re-imagine our History Gallery. It’s time. Much of the History Gallery was created in the 1970s and it has been visited by more than 10 million human beings. It is still in great shape and its immersive settings continue to surprise and delight. But we have new stories we’d like to explore and the existing presentation has never really fulfilled its interpretive potential. 

Imagining how to renew this iconic presentation presents a remarkable – and perhaps unique - challenge and some head-scratching questions:

Maintaining the Magic

The 'Old Town' gallery is built with enormous precision and detail. A whole street is perfectly replicated. How do we add a layer of new interpretation without ruining the illusion? 

Old Town’: the detail in the buildings
and their interiors is astonishing 

In the Beginning…

Though the gallery is organized around a general timeline, few visitors are aware of it. Does a chronology help visitors to follow a story and situate themselves? Should we break from this structure and present the gallery as a series of themes?

 The Modern History begins with
Captain Vancouver but few visitors
realize that they are on a
journey through time

Nurse, scalpel please

To achieve a transformation, there needs to be a critical mass of new presentation …not simply a rejuvenation of old displays. So, what parts do we keep… and what needs to go? Do we have the courage to remove large [and surely beloved by someone] elements?

The Exploration Gallery:
a candidate for replacement?

Who’s not invited?

How do we represent the numerous cultural groups that have made British Columbia their home? The very nature of our society and history is cultural diversity. How do we adequately represent everyone who came here to make a new home?

Currently, Chinatown provides a
glimpse into some particular experiences
of Chinese British Columbians

Where are the people?

Though the entire existing gallery is about the endeavors of human beings, it is surprisingly devoid of any sense of human personality. How do we connect people to the real experience of people from the past?

The Majestic Theatre and The Cannery:
both appear to have just been abandoned!

These are just some of the challenging questions our planning team is confronting right now. We’ve a long way to go – though I think it’s the challenge in the true sense of the word that is firing our imagination right now.

I’d love to hear from anyone with thoughts as to how we should approach any one of these considerations.

Tim Willis

That sounds interesting

From the desk of Tim Willis, Director of Exhibitions and Visitor Experience

I love to hear an exhibition. I suspect this may not be true for everyone, but I really like experiences that have a soundtrack.

For me, visiting an exhibition is not dissimilar to watching a movie. Both require me to become immersed in a story or setting – often one that is far from my day to day existence. Both tell a story, and both can benefit powerfully from the skilful application of music.

It was quite a shock to me to realize how powerful sound in exhibitions can be. Eons ago, I worked on an exhibition of ‘animatronic’ prehistoric beasts. I fear that we may have permanently scarred a generation of young children. If you were between 3 and 5 years old there was a 50/50 chance you’d even make it inside the exhibition – parents were seen rushing from the show with wailing toddlers, hands were locked over ears. It was the sound of ice age wind that had just as much impact as the animals themselves. I hereby apologize to those Edmontonians who are now 24 to 27 years old and cannot understand why the sound of icy wind makes them quite so uneasy.

Mammoth at the Royal BC Museum

Encountering a prehistoric beast at the Royal BC Museum today can also be rather intimidating for very young visitors. Our mammoth is magnificent to behold, but it is the low elephantine rumbling to which very young visitors respond. Have a listen: http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Nat_Hist_Gall/ice_age_sounds.aspx

But sound is one thing… a soundtrack is another. Hollywood directors know well the way in which music can heighten emotional reaction to what is being presented – would the Social Network be as compelling without Trent Reznor’s score? So why is this so seldom practiced in exhibitions? I’m not suggesting the Doors’ The End in the Climate Change gallery, but rather the use of subtle, atmospheric music to reinforce the message and to help the visitor to a receptive frame of mind.

Visitors relaxing in Brian Eno's exhibition, 77 Million Paintings

77 Million Paintings by Brian Eno at the Glenbow in Calgary this month is perhaps the epitome of sound and visual combining equally in the visitor experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke9NbpHQdec

When we present our next big touring exhibition this December, it will have a lovely musical and sound effect ‘wash.’ It will be fun to ask visitors whether this enhanced their visit… or indeed whether they noticed it at all. Stay tuned.

And… as a musical postscript, David Mattison [a former staffer at the Royal BC Museum] was inspired by our recent exhibition, Aliens Among Us to compose a piece of music in its honour: http://soundcloud.com/trancedoctor/alien-species-invade-bc-full



Tim Willis