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21975 A.D. Shadd Road
North Buxton, ON N0P1Y0
phone: 519-352-4799
email: buxtonhistoricalmuseum@gmail.com

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Updated January 2024 by Lori Gardner

A Day With Our Curator

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Managing a non-profit museum requires not only dedication and commitment – but also the abilities to be flexible, allocate limited resources, develop partnerships in the community and abroad, educate the public, plan events and programs, present history in a fresh and meaningful context, etc...  The Buxton Museum is blessed to have a Curator who is both -- a living testimony to the history of Buxton (as a descendent), and as well, an energetic and accomplished multi-tasker to manage the museum!

In the autumn of 2008, our curator, Shannon Prince organized a resource investigation field trip to view a Black doll collection and an African quilt exhibit.  Shannon was joined on the field trip by a few board members who were available. 

The morning began with a trip to view a private doll collection.  The doll collector (who chooses to remain nameless) was a wonderful surprise – generously welcoming strangers, sharing the treasures of a thirty-year collection, and even a gourmet lunch!  As lovely as the dolls are, they pale in comparison to the beauty of their owner.  This phenomenal doll collection will be on display in the Buxton Museum, the exhibit will launch in February 2009 to celebrate Black History Month.

On the ride back to Buxton, a stop was made to tour the African Quilt Exhibit in Ailsa Craig, Ontario.  WOW! The quilts were magnificent and the Weya Women of Zimbabwe produced many of them.  The history of the Weya is rich and touching:

00001_quilts.jpg“Weya Art refers to the art of the peasant women of Weya Communal Land, which is found in the periphery of the Makoni District in Zimbabwe. It is one of the least developed regions in terms of both public and private infrastructure such as schools, medical centres and transport services. Weya Art, a naïve, narrative type of brightly coloured art work on fabricated plywood and fabric was originally developed through the services of a German volunteer. Weya Art may be worked at in a variety of mediums: through painting, sadza painting (batik), graphics, embroidery and appliqué.”
Source: INTERNATIONAL QUILT CATALOG, Concept and production of the international exhibition by Gaby Franger and Ragnhild von Studnitz, An Exhibition of Women in One World

The quilts displayed were available for sale to raise funds for African communities in need.  Pictured right, is the Weya wall hanging purchased by the Buxton Historical Society to support their worthy efforts.

 

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