MUSEUM BOARD

PRESS RELEASE

Issued: May 15, 2018

 

RE: The Status of the Fort la Reine Museum

There have been questions raised by the public and media with respect to the board’s decision to not renew the contract of the former executive director-curator of the museum. We can advise that the decision to take this step was not considered lightly.  Several factors were considered in that difficult decision, the details of which the board is not at liberty to share due to in part the personal and confidential nature of such a decision.

With the summer season fast approaching, it is important to continue to showcase the museum and continue the efforts that have been made to revitalize the museum and place it on the tourist destination map.  The board acknowledges all the hard work being carried out by museum and municipal staff, as well as many volunteers who are pulling together to make this community icon ready for public enjoyment in 2018.

With respect to staffing, Barry Loewen and Alison Loewen are jointly acting as interim directors until a permanent executive director-curator is placed.  Barry and Alison have a direct understanding of the programs and operations in place at the museum and the board is certain the museum is in good hands with them at the helm.

The museum’s summer student Rachel Head is currently the museum’s assistant director and she has been busy reorganizing the office, filling the staff complement for summer, setting schedules and establishing programs.  The board is grateful for the work Rachel has already done for the museum a success and the board, RM and city thank everyone who’s helping the museum move forward.

The museum is scheduled to be open to the public on June 1, 2018, operating Wednesday to Sunday for the months of June, July and August. The website and social media are going to be up and working as soon as possible to keep everyone informed and up to date on the events and exhibits for 2018 at the Museum. We thank everyone who has and continues to work with the museum board and staff. It takes a community to make the museum