Advocacy

International Museum Day 2021 The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine A message from the OMA on International Museum Day International Museum Day has been celebrated on May 18th by the International Council of Museums since 1977, and this year again provides an opportunity to recognise the value that our institutions provide in creating better communities and a better province for us all.  This year's theme is "The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine", and we are reminded about the drastic impacts that our museums have seen and the meaningful changes we have made to emerge from unprecedented times with stronger, more inclusive, and more connected institutions.  The OMA's May is Museum Month / Mai, Mois des Musées initiative has been showcasing the multitude of experiences that Ontario's museums offer since 2000, with this year highlighting the variety of museums and online experiences found across the province.  Museums across the province have reimagined their ways of working with and engaging the public. The foundational work of our sector, through Ontario's Museums 2025, Inclusion 2025: A Practitioner's Guide to Inclusive Museums,  and the Indigenous Collections Symposium most notably, has provided us with steps towards these important outcomes.  The necessary shifts museums have made to offer programs and experiences digitally, where possible, are a continuation of the trend for more online and connected work that began long before the pandemic. Data from before March 2020 showed that Ontario's museum websites were welcoming 112.8 million visitors per year--4 visits per second! These virtual connections have demonstrated their value over the past year in ways we could never have imagined.    Our sector has exhibited new heights of creativity, innovation, resilience, and dedication. The skills we all have built and our pride in each other will continue to serve us well.    We look forward to the days ahead where museums across Ontario can fully welcome the public through their doors and again achieve nearly 20 million in-person visits a year! Ontario's museums will remain a vibrant and vital part of every community.  We're inviting our communities to rediscover Ontario museums and the reimagined experiences and virtual connections they've developed.  Our team at the OMA is proud to work with Ontario's museums and will continue to amplify your successes and concerns. We know that museums are a key part of what makes our communities distinct and vibrant places to live, work, visit and invest! See more of what the OMA has been showcasing this May:  Our May is Museum Month 2021 webpage A May is Museum Month Twitter Moment

 

OMA Releases White Paper
 

The Ontario Museum Association (OMA) is pleased to share Exhibiting Resilience: Empowering Ontario’s community museums for strategic recovery. This white paper brings together specific findings and expertise from across Ontario’s museum community. Drawing on surveys of OMA members both before and during the pandemic, as well as information from the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, Canadian Heritage, and other key stakeholders, the OMA has created a profile of the state of the sector and its needs as we continue the work of Ontario’s Museums’ 2025: Strategic Vision and Action Plan. 

Exhibiting Resilience makes three specific recommendations to the Ontario Government. The first is for an Ontario Museum Relief Fund, valued at $8.5 million, which would support museums as they continue to navigate the revenue losses and increased operating costs brought on by COVID-19. The second recommendation is for a Digital Response Fund, valued at $10 million over three years. While the need for modernized digital strategies is particularly urgent in the time of remote work, learning, and tourism, an investment in the digital transformation of Ontario’s museums will ensure equitable access to the research, stories, and benefits that museums have to offer for years to come. Looking ahead to the long-term future of the sector, the OMA also recommends that the Government of Ontario renew the Ontario museum funding model. Raising the level of annual operating support for community museums will empower local museums to realize their mandates and serve their communities at their full potential. The OMA recommends an initial increase in sustainable operating funding for community museums to a total of $15 million annually.

Exhibiting Resilience will serve as a resource and a reference for the museum sector and the provincial government to work together to modernize the support systems for Ontario’s museums, so they continue to be essential community assets for economic, educational, cultural, and social vitality. The Ontario Museum Association stands ready to work with and on behalf of its members, and in partnership with the Government of Ontario, to develop and implement the above recommendations towards recovery. We are grateful to our members and sector partners who support us in our work to keep Ontario’s museums vibrant, inspiring, and impactful. 

 

 

Echoing the context and recommendations provided in the OMA's document Exhibiting Resilience: Empowering Ontario's community museums for strategic recovery, and aligned with the government's efforts towards recovery as outlined in the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries' White Paper Reconnecting Ontarians: Re-emerging as a Global Leader, the OMA brings forward recommendations to address the impacts of the pandemic for the province's museums. 

The OMA brings forward three recommendations for Ontario's 2021 Budget:

Read the OMA's 2021 Ontario Budget submission HERE

 

 

The OMA is available to work with Regional Museum Networks and members to plan meetings with their local MPPs. Please reach out to community@museumsontario.ca with your interest. 

2. Participate in Ontario's 2021 Budget Consultations
(by FRIDAY, February 12, 2021):
a) Make your own submission, using the OMA's Submission to Ontario's 2021 Budget HERE (Submissions are limited to 500 words)
b) Send by email to submissions@ontario.ca and 

You may address your submission to: 
The Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy
Minister of Finance
c/o Budget Secretariat
Frost Building North, 3rd Floor
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Z1

The OMA has also prepared a submission of recommendations to the federal government for consideration in advance of the upcoming federal budget.

The OMA recommends:
1: That through the 2021 Federal Budget, the government continues to prioritize an investment of resources toward the review of the national museum policy;
2: That the 2021 Federal Budget extends and increases emergency support to museums;
3: That the 2021 Federal Budget increases funding to Canada’s museums to at least $60 million annually;
4:  That the government fund initiatives for digital transformation in museums; 
5: That the government expand the Endowment Incentives of the Canada Cultural Investment Fund to include heritage organizations including museums; and
6: That the Federal Budget includes sufficient financial resources to recognize the tremendous benefits of museums to the economy and society.

Read the OMA's submission for Canada's 2021 Federal Budget HERE. 

The OMA fully supports and reiterates the recommendations of the Canadian Museums Association. 

Before February 19, 2021, members can make recommendations to the federal government by visiting the Let's talk Budget 2021 website to fill out a questionnaire or upload their own submission HERE.

 

 

• Download a template letter HERE
• Find your MPP's contact information HERE
• cc: Ministry of Finance (minister.fin@ontario.ca)  & Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries-MHSTCI (minister.macleod@ontario.ca) on your email
• cc: the OMA (community@museumsontario.ca) on your emai

 

• Use the OMA's Fall 2020 Budget Submission HERE (Submissions are limited to 500 words)

a) Send by email to submissions@ontario.ca and:

 

 

The Honourable Rod Phillips

Minister of Finance

c/o Budget Secretariat

Frost Building North, 3rd Floor

95 Grosvenor Street

Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Z1

 

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The OMA's 2nd COVID-19 Impact Survey collected 150 responses from museums across the province between August 14 and September 4, 2020; capturing the impacts of COVID-19 to the end of July 2020 and the state of museums at the time of their response. 

 

Some key findings include:

Read the full Key Findings HERE. 

Download an infographic HERE.