What do Canadians see as the value of museums for them, their communities, and for Canada?

Reconsidering Museums, a national project, sets out to answer the question, what do museums mean to Canadians? Through a rearticulation of the value of museums and a rebrand of the sector, this project aims to support museums with the tools and language necessary to better connect with and serve their communities, deepening their relationship, and therefore their relevance, to the Canadian public.

Reconsidering Museums provides data-driven insights and resources to support museums in understanding and responding to public perceptions and expectations of museums. The project shares data from a nation-wide survey about the role and value of museums to Canadians.

The Reconsidering Museums toolkit contains informational, communications, and advocacy tools. Informational tools provide an overview of the data collected. Communications tools help museums adopt and share the evidence-backed language recommendations and messaging developed in response to the research. Advocacy tools support museums in advocating for their museum, the sector, and for broader community issues.

Find the website and toolkit at reconsideringmuseums.ca.

Launched in 2020, Reconsidering Museums was undertaken in partnership with a consortium of provincial and territorial museums associations and the Canadian Museums Association, led by the Alberta Museums Association.

The Alberta Museums Association gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Cultural Investment Fund and the Province of Alberta through the Community Initiatives Program for the Reconsidering Museums project.

Reconsidering Museums Webinar

On March 8, 2023 ANSM hosted a Reconsidering Museums Webinar, Facilitated by Caroline Loewen, the Communications Lead for the Alberta Museums Association and Project Lead for the national research and advocacy project Reconsidering Museums.

View the recorded session here to learn more about the project and how the resources can help your museum better connect with and serve your communities, deepening your relationship, and therefore your relevance, to the Canadian public.