Each year, the first week of April is dedicated to Archives Awareness Week in Ontario. At the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, the Archives are celebrating by sharing the importance of preserving documentary heritage within our community. This year, the focus of Archives Awareness Week is on donating, preserving and accessing photographic images, and preserving community experiences.

The invention of photography impacted our culture and revolutionized the ways people communicated. On April 6, 2021 at 2 PM, join the free presentation of “Photographs & Photography at the Archives: a virtual presentation with live Q&A” on the BCM&CC’s Facebook page. This presentation will leave you with a broader understanding of the history of photography. You will also learn why photographs from a certain period look the way they do, and how photos have been used over time. Further, you will discover how the Archives preserves and makes fascinating images from across Bruce County accessible to the public.

“Photographs and postcards are some of the items most frequently requested and viewed by researchers,” says Archivist Deb Sturdevant. “They reflect a sense of place, emotion and experiences throughout our history, and share scenes with us that are otherwise difficult to envision now.”

The BCM&CC accepts donations of photographs depicting Bruce County events, places and people, both historic and current. Photographs from our current experiences through the COVID-19 pandemic will help future Bruce County residents better appreciate what our communities looked and felt like during this past year. The BCM&CC is collecting images, video and written stories to preserve a record of our experiences during this time. Donated materials may be used in future exhibitions or publications and may be used by researchers for years to come. If you are interested in making a donation of an item, please contact [email protected].

Archives Awareness Week is proudly presented by the Bruce County Historical Society. The BCM&CC is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Discover more and plan your journey through Bruce County history at brucemuseum.ca.

source: media release, Bruce County Museum