Montreal – On Friday, May 10, in Halifax, the Canadian Association of Science Centres held their annual CASCADE Awards Gala. The Montréal Science Centre was awarded Best Exhibition or Show – Large Institution for Indigenous Ingenuity.
A success in more ways than one
The Indigenous Ingenuity exhibition is an interactive quest exploring innovations created by Indigenous Peoples across Canada. Launched in 2017, during the celebration of Montreal’s 375th anniversary and Canada’s 150th, the exhibition was a tremendous box office success – so much so that it was remounted in 2018-19 after touring to British Columbia. In total, it enabled more than 250,000 visitors to discover the ingenuity of our First Peoples. “One of our goals was to foster a sense of pride in our Indigenous visitors and to build bridges between cultures. We now can claim: mission accomplished!” said Cybèle Robichaud, Director of Programming at the Montréal Science Centre.
The fruit of a rigorous collaborative process
The success of Indigenous Ingenuity can be attributed in great part to a collaborative process with members of Indigenous Nations who were involved in every stage of the development of the exhibition. In addition, representative Indigenous people were featured at the heart of the interactive quest: Elisabeth Kaine, Jacques Kurtness, Monique Manatch and Marie-Josée Parent, to name a few.
Indigenous Ingenuity was realized with the financial support of several organizations, including the Science Centre Foundation, Canada Lands Company, the Government of Quebec, the Society for the Celebrations of Montréal’s 375th, and Canada 150.
About the Montréal Science Centre
The Montréal Science Centre is a complex dedicated to science and technology, with more than 700,000 visitors annually. It is characterized by its accessible, interactive approach and its showcasing of local innovation and know-how. Its partners are Volvo, TELUS, La Presse+, Rhythm 105.7, 92.5 The Beat, 96.9 CKOI and 98.5.
