What is the Community Museums Association of PEI ?
The CMAPEI has an Annual General Meeting where members can come together to network and share with each other on how to better improve all Island museums.
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The CMAPEI workshops allow members to visit a variety of sites across the island. This picture was taken at Orwell Corner Historical Village, Orwell PEI.
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Vision Statement
The Community Museums Association of Prince Edward Island will through the use of leadership in training, innovation and empowerment contribute to the enhancement, promotion and protection of Prince Edward Island’s heritage.
Mandate
The mandate accepted by the Association was that of fostering and supporting historical societies and community museums, as well as facilitating communication between the various museums, governments and other relevant organizations.
Goals and Values
From its inception, the major goal of the Association has been to upgrade the quality of museums on Prince Edward Island by providing the necessary skills and knowledge to museum operators. The movement towards high museum standards through training and the sharing of information is central to our very existence.
Over the years, the program has evolved to include a number of strategies ensuring that museum staff could access the professional development opportunities they required to maintain and upgrade their facilities. Strategies have included seminars, newsletters, a resource centre, individualized training, mentoring, museum advisory, support services and collaborative projects. The movement towards high museum standards through professional development activities and the sharing of information is central to our very existence. The following goals encompass the primary objectives of the Association:
1) To promote high standards, and whenever possible, increase the level of excellence in the museum community
2) To facilitate communication and cooperation among members, other heritage organizations and government agencies.
3) To promote a public awareness of the functions of museums to collect, research, exhibit and interpret aspects of the past.
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The CMAPEI provides unique study tours workshops that gives our members the opportunity to better learn how to care for their sites. This picture was taken at the New Brunswick Museum.
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Every year the CMAPEI donates two cash prizes for student projects on local / community heritage to the Prince Edward Island Heritage Fair at the Confederation Art Centre in Charlottetown.
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Since its inception, the Association has been very successful at addressing the needs of the Island museum community and promoting excellence. A few years ago, the Department of Education’s Ministerial Steering Committee on Culture’s report titled “Culture, Itself a Treasure” noted the important role the CMA/PEI plays in museum development on Prince Edward Island. In 1996, the CMA/PEI contracted an evaluator, Dr. Tom Connor & Associates, to conduct an analysis of our program and to make recommendations for the future. This study found that the Association's program had raised museum standards, improved policies, improved the quality of exhibits and increased the skill and confidence of personnel.
Most recently in the 2008 study, Charting a Course: The Study of Heritage on PEI, prepared for the PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, it is noted that, "The work of the Community Museums Association is fundamental to the operation of the community museums here.” The value of museums on PEI as destination points for those visiting PEI is noted by the 2010 study by the Tourism Research Centre of the University of PEI which found that 91% of respondents traveling on PEI visited historic sites, museums or galleries.
The Association strives to develop projects which allow the museum community to work together making the maximum use of valuable time and resources. In 1995, the CMA/PEI through its Museum Development Project enabled the Island’s community museums to develop and update their policy statements, evaluate themselves according to the voluntary provincial museum standards and create 3 year museum development plans. As a follow-up to this, the province made museum development grant money available for community museums administered by the Association. We found that many members had achieved the goals they set for themselves through these plans. In 2003, the Association worked with the Island’s community museums to re-assess the museums according to the provincial standards, develop new 3 year plans and update each museum’s policy statements.
The Association in recent years has accomplished a number of initiatives in support of our members. We have assisted them in addressing the preventative conservation needs of their museums by evaluating their facilities and undertaking an evaluation of each museum's preventative conservation practices and made recommendations. We have worked with our members to help upgrade the data associated with selected artefacts in their collections management software and upload it to Artefacts Canada. We have created a training CD which has been provided to our members containing training modules in basic museum work.
The Association has undertaken a number of successful cooperative projects involving several or all of the museums on the Island. We completed 2 Virtual Exhibits containing almost 1000 pages each of interactive multi-media content funded through the Virtual Museum of Canada featuring a number of our member museums, and undertook a number of Data Upgrade Projects creating a PEI Provincial View on Artefacts Canada. Most recently the Association has worked with the Island museums to develop standards for collections management procedures, data collection and input and nomenclature. We undertook a project to inventory, research and digitize all of the Made-in-PEI farm equipment help in collections on the Island. We have also developed a series of pilots with our members creating download-able ipod tours to promote Island museums and provide them with some income.
The Association continues to be true to the goals outlined above and in doing so continues to serve the Island’s museums. We strive to remain relevant and undertake innovative approaches to empower and serve the community as it grows and becomes more professional in its approach to museum operations.
Most recently in the 2008 study, Charting a Course: The Study of Heritage on PEI, prepared for the PEI Department of Communities, Cultural Affairs and Labour, it is noted that, "The work of the Community Museums Association is fundamental to the operation of the community museums here.” The value of museums on PEI as destination points for those visiting PEI is noted by the 2010 study by the Tourism Research Centre of the University of PEI which found that 91% of respondents traveling on PEI visited historic sites, museums or galleries.
The Association strives to develop projects which allow the museum community to work together making the maximum use of valuable time and resources. In 1995, the CMA/PEI through its Museum Development Project enabled the Island’s community museums to develop and update their policy statements, evaluate themselves according to the voluntary provincial museum standards and create 3 year museum development plans. As a follow-up to this, the province made museum development grant money available for community museums administered by the Association. We found that many members had achieved the goals they set for themselves through these plans. In 2003, the Association worked with the Island’s community museums to re-assess the museums according to the provincial standards, develop new 3 year plans and update each museum’s policy statements.
The Association in recent years has accomplished a number of initiatives in support of our members. We have assisted them in addressing the preventative conservation needs of their museums by evaluating their facilities and undertaking an evaluation of each museum's preventative conservation practices and made recommendations. We have worked with our members to help upgrade the data associated with selected artefacts in their collections management software and upload it to Artefacts Canada. We have created a training CD which has been provided to our members containing training modules in basic museum work.
The Association has undertaken a number of successful cooperative projects involving several or all of the museums on the Island. We completed 2 Virtual Exhibits containing almost 1000 pages each of interactive multi-media content funded through the Virtual Museum of Canada featuring a number of our member museums, and undertook a number of Data Upgrade Projects creating a PEI Provincial View on Artefacts Canada. Most recently the Association has worked with the Island museums to develop standards for collections management procedures, data collection and input and nomenclature. We undertook a project to inventory, research and digitize all of the Made-in-PEI farm equipment help in collections on the Island. We have also developed a series of pilots with our members creating download-able ipod tours to promote Island museums and provide them with some income.
The Association continues to be true to the goals outlined above and in doing so continues to serve the Island’s museums. We strive to remain relevant and undertake innovative approaches to empower and serve the community as it grows and becomes more professional in its approach to museum operations.
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Governance - Administration
The governing body of the Association is the Executive Board. This Board consists of nine members, 1 from each of Prince Edward Island's counties & 6 members-at-large. This representation on the Board ensures that the concerns and needs of the provincial museum community are represented.
Our Members
The Association's primary audience is the museum/heritage community. We have been very successful in bringing this community closer together. All the museums in the province have membership in the Association. Membership includes the P.E.I. Museum & Heritage Foundation, the Confederation Centre Art Gallery & Museum, the Acadian Museum, community museums, Department of Veterans Affairs, educational institutions, private museums, museum professionals and volunteers, as well as interested individuals.
Funding
The Community Museums Association of Prince Edward Island is funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and The Department of Tourism and Culture. Our partnership with the Department of Tourism and the Department of Canadian Heritage is greatly valued and appreciated.
© 2012 The Community Museums Association of Prince Edward Island