October 21, 2022
This past summer, our President and CEO—and interim Curator—Terry Slobodian, was asked to present at annual conference of the International Association of Transport and Communication Museums (IATM) in Prague. The proposed topics were audience diversification and making the museum relevant to new visitors, two goals Terry has worked tirelessly toward since joining the museum in 2018.
A new approach
In 2019, Terry was tasked with building on 40 years of success. His new mandate was to transform and grow the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada. Though beloved by visitors, staff and volunteers, the “old” museum on Ferry Road had limitations due to its facility, a decommissioned TCA hangar.
Terry’s approach was multi-faceted: to shift the focus from being an aircraft-centric museum, to a story-centric museum; to enhance the volunteer and visitor experience; to adopt world-class best practices and standards; and to incorporate a commitment to Truth and Reconciliation and Indigenous Inclusion.
Sustainable funding model
From a quantitative perspective, the museum’s new strategic plan called for a four-fold increase in revenue to accompany growth in attendance. To date, we’ve had more than 50,000 visitors and are on track to meet or exceed our aggressive goals by year-end.
The Royal Aviation Museum received government funding for its capital campaign but will receive just five percent of its operating budget from the government. The remaining budget will be funded by 12 revenue lines that include admissions, school programming, event rentals, parking, and gift shop sales.
Community consultations
To ensure the strategic plan could be implemented, RAMWC conducted extensive market research to identify target audiences and inform rebranding, marketing strategy, and exhibit development.
The museum was also asked by the aviation and aerospace and education communities to play a role in inspiring young people to consider careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. Manitoba is a global leader in the space and is facing a labour shortage. Working with award-winning educated Maria Nickel, we’ve recently launched five new curricula and STEM-based programs as an initial step towards this goal.
What’s next for RAMWC?
In addition to sharing his approach and learnings with the international museum community, Terry was eager to learn from colleagues and bring that knowledge back to RAMWC. Another goal was to connect with Joachim Breuninger from the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin and plan for the return of our Junkers F13, CF-ALX, within the next couple of years.
Terry also picked up some key insights from the conference to guide our next steps. He shared these with staff and volunteers in a recent lunch-and-learn.
There was a lot of emphasis on making collections more relevant, more dynamic, and more empowering. To that end, plans are already in the works to refine RAMWC’s collection and secure funding for a research room and an enhanced conservation centre. We also plan to develop open and on-site access to our library and archives.
In the same vein, we’re also seeking funding for collaboration with CanTalk. CanTalk offers interpretive and translation services. This project would see our gallery content translated into a variety of languages making our museum accessible to a broader audience.
Collection decolonization
Another trend is towards the decolonization of museums. One example given at the conference was the Legacies: London Transport’s Caribbean Workforce exhibit at the London Transport Museum. This exhibit is designed to celebrate the contributions Caribbean people have made to transport in London and Britain. It explores the struggles and triumphs these individuals and their families faced as they were recruited from the Caribbean between 1956 and 1970. Many of these new London Transport employees were skilled and well-educated, they had to take basic, low-paying work and often faced discrimination.
While the conference referenced this in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, for us the emphasis will be on items and stories of an Indigenous nature. We have more than 40,000 photos in our collection, some of which include images of Indigenous peoples who have not been named. Currently, we’re working with leaders from First Nations communities to identify these individuals and tell their stories properly. We have already done so with a series of photos from 1922 and shared them with the community. These are the oldest photos the community has of their ancestors.
Upcoming restorations
We’ve recently moved our restoration facility to a new location and our volunteer team is eager to get started on projects. We are evaluating what we are going to do with our aircraft and artefacts that are not now in our museum. This will involve deciding which aircraft to restore to cycle into our museum to keep our collection fresh. It’s likely that our Nooduyn Norseman (CF-BTC) and our Fairchild Husky (CG-CYV) will be the next two aircraft restored. Stay tuned for details!
The conference was an enlightening opportunity to gather with leaders from other world-class museums, share ideas, and find inspiration. We’ve reached a point where we’re considered a leader in the museum world, a responsibility we take very seriously.
As Terry says, “Museums do not have borders, they have a network. We are committed to building a network of like-minded museums in Canada and abroad in order that we can grow and contribute to the growth of other museums.”
READ MORE
