Organizers are raising funds for an exhibit to commemorate the Jewish contribution to Canada. The exhibit, titled Canadian Jewish Experience: A Tribute to Canada 150, will be launched in 2017 for Canada’s 150th celebration.
They hope to raise $2.9 million for the year-long exhibit.
“With something like this you can’t do it without doing it well. And doing it well means, based on our projections, that a decent looking exhibit does take that amount to do,” says Rabbi Dr. Reuven Bulka, an advisor on the creation of the exhibit.
The high price tag is because organizers would like to incorporate film and interactive technology into the exhibit to attract younger people.
“We want to have the latest; we don’t want to be like 150 years ago. We want to use the latest technology to attract people because there will be other exhibits in town,” says Tova Lynch, chair of the Canadian Jewish Experience board.
Lynch plans on seeking funds from the government, corporations and the Jewish community. But if the goal is not reached, that doesn’t mean that the exhibit will not happen.
“It’s a hope to get the $2.9 million because we need enough money to create a good enough exhibit. But there is a threshold; we have to get a million or more,” says her husband Jim Lynch, who is also a member of the Canadian Jewish Experience board.
So far about $250,000 has been raised. The biggest donation is $180,000 from the Asper Foundation in Winnipeg.
By incorporating the technology, the hope is to attract the younger audiences to visit with interactivity built into the exhibit.
“We really want to show the young people what the Jews did in Canada because a lot of people are not aware,” says Tova Lynch.
The exhibit will be divided into nine different themes, including migration, the military, sports, industry and entrepreneurship, media and entertainment, anti-Semitism, architecture, politics and a Hall of Fame of 150 Canadian Jews.
“The idea behind it is to showcase what Jews contributed and to celebrate the 150th anniversary. We thought it would be a time to show the world what the Jewish community has accomplished and what they contributed to Canada over the years,” says Tova Lynch.
Some of the names that will be commemorated are former CBC journalist Barbara Frum and Bora Laskin, the first Jewish Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The exhibit will also display artifacts like the Hart Trophy, the MVP trophy awarded in the NHL that is named after former Montreal Canadiens coach Cecil Hart, who is Jewish.
“The trick will be trying to fit it all into a relatively small space. So there will probably be a lot of people who will be disappointed that they aren’t in it. That’s one of the difficult decisions, who makes the cut and who doesn’t,” says Bulka.
While commemorating these Jewish characters and their contributions to Canada is the central idea, there is a deeper meaning to it, says Jim Lynch.
“One of the goals of the exhibit is to shatter myths. The exhibit is designed to be for everybody, not just Jewish people, to educate people about how long Jewish people have been in Canada. And what they have contributed because a lot of people just don’t know about it,” he says.
The exhibit will be located at 30 Metcalfe St. beginning in January 2017. According to Tova Lynch, they expect at least 300,000 visitors within the year.
“The hope is that once it’s done, it will be an exhibit that will have a life after the 150th and what is being celebrated can continue to be celebrated,” says Bulka.