AMA Celebrates Lougheed House, Recipient of the 2020 Robert R. Janes Award

 

Congratulations to Lougheed House, the 2020 recipient of the Robert R. Janes Award for Social Responsibility! This Award recognizes Lougheed House’s commitment to creating exciting and unique visitor experiences that tell the lesser-known stories of Calgary and to integrating social responsibility into all aspects of its museum practice.

The team at Lougheed House has gone beyond the traditional historic house museum to embrace, challenge, and educate the communities around it and evolve alongside them. 

“At Lougheed House we believe that our story is best told together.”

Watch Lougheed House's acceptance video below: 

Through its many ongoing partnerships with Indigenous, racialized, queer, and feminist groups, Lougheed House is telling the lesser-known histories of the many and varied communities it serves. Its responsiveness to the feedback gathered from these diverse communities firmly positions it as a leader in the museum field. 

 Métis veteran Sergeant Major George Pambrun, Retired, at the raising of the Métis flag at the Lougheed House Garden Festival in July 2019.

Lougheed House created a Community Engagement Framework and a Re-Imagined Exhibition Development Plan that is embedded with community feedback. Standing out as a model for other institutions, this framework guides Lougheed House’s work with the community and enables it to transform its exhibit spaces to reflect the more diverse history of Calgary. 

Exhibits and events, such as Exploring Métis Identity: Past and Present and Roar: Exploring Queer History and Gender Identity, are shining examples of Lougheed House’s re-imagining and historic illumination.

Costumed attendees pose for the photo booth during Outliers: Queer History in Calgary in May 2019.

In focussing on the evolution of the House and telling these stories together, Lougheed House is building a thriving and sustainable organization that exemplifies the active role museums can take alongside their partners in shaping the narrative of a dynamic Alberta. 

Congratulations, Lougheed House!