Beatrix Shackleton (left) and Corrie Bouskill, along with 11 other members of the Bytown Museum Youth Council, are creating an exhibit on the social history of youth in Ottawa over the last century. Jolson Lim, Centretown NewsA new exhibit is coming to the Bytown Museum thanks to the hard work of a group of youth and a $1,000 award from an “awesome” organization.
The Bytown Museum Youth Council was the recipient of September’s Awesome Ottawa Award, a no-strings-attached grant that is handed out each month by the Ottawa chapter of the Awesome Foundation to projects its members consider “awesome.” The museum’s 14-member youth council, whose participants range from high school sophomores to soon-to-be university graduates, is planning to use the money to create a permanent photo exhibition showcasing youth in Ottawa over the past 100 years.
Corrie Bouskill, a museum employee and the council’s facilitator, said the exhibit will offer a different perspective to the people of Ottawa, especially for youth.
“We hope that people . . . realize that youth are an important part of our history,” said Bouskill. The idea of a youth photo exhibit was conceived this summer during one of the council’s many brainstorming sessions, including a discussion about what to do with a particular exhibition space at the museum, which is situated next to the headlocks of the Rideau Canal across from the Château Laurier.
The researchers have started compiling photos, digging through the museum’s own collections, as well as City of Ottawa Archives, Library and Archives Canada, and even Lisgar Collegiate Institute yearbooks. The exhibit is set to open in early 2017.
Avi Caplan, dean of the Awesome Ottawa chapter, expressed his group’s enthusiasm for the Youth Council’s planned exhibit.
“We love projects that show Ottawa in a different light, and can’t wait to see what the Youth Council comes up with,” said Caplan. “We also think that awesome comes in all shapes and sizes, and we were excited to see a youth-led project come our way.”
One council member said the project will enhance local history.
“(It’s) special because we’re creating an exhibit that shines a light on youth, a segment of the population we find are often ignored in history,” said Marielle Rochefort, a history student at Carleton University. “We’re having a lot of fun as a group digging through archives and finding pieces of Ottawa’s history.”
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The council first heard of the Awesome Ottawa awards from another museum staffer who had succeeded in obtaining the same grant in the past. Council members were ecstatic when they learned that their exhibit proposal had succeeded.
“Everyone was super excited,” said Bouskill. “We didn’t know if we were necessarily going to receive it, so it was nice to know that we were getting recognition for the work that we were doing.”
She added: “We also want to attract more of a youth audience and let them be inspired and know that their age group historically played an important part, even though it may not always be shown in the larger museums.”
Awesome’s local chapter was established in 2010. It’s the third branch of what is now a network of about 80 groups trying to advance “awesomeness” around the world. This month’s award was the 80th the Ottawa chapter has given out since its inception. Globally, the Awesome movement has given out more than $2 million.
“I loved seeing the range of activities young people have been a part of over the years,” said Delany Leitch, a council member and University of Ottawa history student. “I especially enjoyed the two photos I found from Library and Archives Canada showing young Second World War soldiers training in Ottawa. We’ve seen such an amazing assortment of photos that haven’t been showcased in any way yet, and it feels great to be able to pay them tribute.”
The council is planning to finish collecting and researching photos by the end of October and finalize the exhibit layout by December.