Ottawa’s rich and vibrant history will intersect with the public’s fascination for beards and moustaches at the Bytown Museum this Nov. 2 in a unique and, some might say, hairy, new exhibit.
The exhibit, called “Great Mo-Ments in Bytown,” brings together two unlikely topics in the name of charity and public entertainment by showing off creatively sculpted facial hair throughout Ottawa’s history.
“It’s just a great way to have some fun,” says Grant Vogl, the Bytown Museum’s collections and exhibitions manager. “We have fun at this museum, but it doesn’t always have to be very straightforward history. It can be interpreted in a new way,”
The exhibit is the brainchild of Vogl, who has been involved in fundraising for five years with the prostate cancer research charity Movember, after his father was diagnosed and then successfully treated for the illness.
“Great Moments in Bytown” will do double duty as an entertaining, educational exhibit and also as a way to generate public interest and donations for Movember Canada.
For many, the month of November has become synonymous with Movember, the high-profile fundraiser in which men grow moustaches or other facial hair to raise awareness and money in support of cancer research. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson even officially declared November as ‘Movember’ last year in a special ceremony.
Samir Khan, co-chair of Movember Ottawa, says that the museum’s exhibit is a fun way to introduce Movember to people who weren’t previously aware of it by showing the “grassroots of moustaches.”
“I love it, the fact that a museum such as the Bytown Museum is taking that on and showcasing Movember in such a way,” says Khan.
Photographs of men from Ottawa’s history, many of whom were teachers, mayors, or political figures, will be on display for the public. Vogl says his personal favourite is a photograph of the 1893 Hintonburg village council, which includes six artfully mustachioed men sitting around a table.
Other items described as shaving paraphernalia include 19th-century razors and an antique tea cup with a protective “shelf” to keep the drinker’s moustache dry, says Vogl.
All the photographs and antiques are a part of the primary collection of the museum, which boasts about 7,000 historical objects in total. According to Vogl, about 20 artifacts will be put on display for the upcoming exhibit.
The moustache-themed exhibit was funded by a grant from the Ottawa branch of the Awesome Foundation, an organization that gives out $1,000, no-strings-attached grants to people or groups with creative project ideas.
Gavin Cramer, one of Awesome Ottawa’s trustees, says that the museum’s idea was “something we’d like to see happen” after it was pitched at the organization’s third birthday party in June.
“When we say we want to see awesome things, we don’t have a strict set of rules. Just impress us with your idea. Awesomeness is the biggest factor,” says Cramer.
He explains that it was the second time the idea was put forward to Awesome Ottawa, but because of Vogl’s live pitch and the Bytown Museum’s existing infrastructure, the trustees felt the money would produce something substantial.
Vogl says that without the grant, the museum wouldn’t have been able to put on the exhibit, as it has a very limited operating budget.
“We really needed to get support to do a show like this,” he says.
In addition to the exhibit, the museum will be hosting a fundraising party Nov. 21 to collect donations for Movember Canada.