Regional Art Galleries are gems mostly unseen by the average citizen

BY STEVEN KASZAB

The efforts put into establishing a local, municipal or regional museum is enormous and expensive, requiring a constant flow of financial assistance from the state, local and city governments and the public at large. Donations are a requirement, sought from every sector of the economy but mostly from local citizens/businesses.

You may ask why you should visit a local museum. The buildings are smaller than the large city Museums, and no one seems to be going there anyways, as there are no vehicles in its parking lots. These venues must not be of interest to the public.

Municipalities gather limited funds to build or occupy a structure for a permanent or temporary facility. Investments are made by local authorities but also individual citizens who find a purpose for a museum. Whether you’re in: Bridgetown (Barbados), Kingston (Ontario), Boston (Mass), Port of Spain (Trinidad), or Dublin (Ireland) every citizen, or visitor to the region, or city should be able to know and understand that region’s history, residents, and cultural points of interest.

A small town in Northern Ontario may point the way to the region’s historical development and economy, evolving from the founder of a town through the economic steps in history to where they are now: traders, forest harvesting, mineral extraction to tourism, and so on. Museums have a strength to share with those who visit, a message in history that can provoke thoughtful change in a person. Winnipeg’s Human Rights Museum comes to mind, or McMichael’s Art Gallery presenting the life of the Group of Seven and other artists of that time in Canada.

Whatever the museum may center itself upon, like a Canoe Museum, arts and crafts, regional or national history, or emancipation of peoples, the very thought these institutions exist should draw you into their creative story and help share it with you. A museum in Haiti or Cuba can center upon the region, but also the human struggles these people have endured. A Museum of Reggae could have: Bob Marley, jazz or the blues. It not only presents the music created, but also tells the story of these creative men and women, and how their music influenced generations. Native Aboriginal Museums present live experiences of people in transition and struggling history.

Museums of Art capture my heart and mind. Artists ranging from the greats to present day creationists weave their creations before you present an interpretation of their lives, and thoughts that may interest you. Mary Magdalena of Cuba, Christopher Cozier of Trinidad, Sofia Muriente of San Juan, or Donnet Maria of Thunder Bay by way of Jamaica, shine forth as custodians of our: culture, love of nature, self and national expressions.

Don’t allow these institutions to flounder and disappear. Remember what should be understood, what is to be recorded, what is to be should be imagined with respect and anticipation.