Royal BC Museum joins Landscapes of Injustice project

At the end of August 2014, the Landscapes of Injustice project received a federal government Partnership Grant of $2.5 million and a thirteenth partner from the Royal BC Museum.

Royal BC Museum, Victoria BC.

This grant and the thirteen Canadian partners will work together in conducting research to develop a traveling exhibition that discusses the forced dispossession of homes and properties owned by Japanese Canadians during the Second World War.

“The story of the Japanese-Canadian experience during the Second World War is well-documented but perhaps not widely understood by most British Columbians,” said Dr Kathryn Bridge, Royal BC Museum Deputy Director and Head of Knowledge and Academic Relations.

The Landscapes of Injustice project will incorporate university students in the research and designing of the exhibition, but it will also communicate the message to much younger students and communities across Canada when it opens in 2019.

The University of Victoria, who will continue to develop a working relationship with the Royal BC Museum as UVic students partake in this project, spearheads the Landscapes of Injustice project. The Royal BC Museum has hosted UVic students in their space previously through internships and classes in the exhibition areas. UVic Students will learn how to refashion their reach into educational content and for new audiences.

The Royal BC Museum will provide $1.1 million in funding over the course of the seven year project through a series of in-kind contributions, including designing and hosting a travelling museum exhibition, providing research for an online Learning Portal and an educational platform for K-12 students.

“The Royal BC Museum can contribute to a broader understanding of this tragic episode in our history by providing rich archival source materials to researchers, by helping to design a comprehensive exhibition about the issue and by propelling the story to learners everywhere through our online channels,” said Dr Kathryn Bridge, Royal BC Museum Deputy Director and Head of Knowledge and Academic Relations.

With an already extensive archival collection that documents the involuntary appropriation of homes, businesses and other material goods, photos, and letters the Royal BC Museum will be able to help tell the story in vivid and personal detail.

The traveling exhibition is expected to open in 2019 at the Nikkei National Museum. The details of installation at the Royal BC Museum will be announce closer to completion.

More information about the Landscapes of Injustice project can be found here.

To read more about new research happening across Canada check out New Research on the Education channel.