The Rooms Provincial Archives Division is pleased to present its latest exhibition - Storefront. Storefront is based on the holdings of the Still Images Collection of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division and features historic images of storefronts predominantly from the Water Street area of St. John's, ranging in date from the 1890s to 1955.

The Still Images collection of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division contains over 400,000 images, representing subjects and photographers from around Newfoundland and Labrador. The images for the Storefront exhibition show long-gone scenes from the daily work of shops and the shop owners who ran them. They offer a glimpse into the historic business practices of these businesses, the products sold, architecture and advertising techniques used at the time.

Storefront appears in the Level 2 vitrine exhibition area of The Rooms and will be on display until summer 2010. Digital reproductions of the images featured in Storefront and other images from The Rooms Provincial Archives Division may be obtained by contacting the Archives by telephone at 709-757-8030 or by visiting: http://www.therooms.ca/archives/still_images.asp

For more information about the exhibition or the photographic holdings, please contact:

Sandra Ronayne, Archivist - Still and Moving Images
The Rooms Provincial Archives Division
757-8087, sandraronayne@therooms.ca 

Out of the Vaults: The Secret World of Artifacts
January 26 - September 6 2010
Level 4

Come and explore the life cycle of an artifact as we prepare a wide selection of rarely seen treasures from our collections for their journey to our regional museum in Grand Bank. From carriages and sleighs, to lighthouses and fishing boats, watch, learn and discover the "whys" and the "hows" with our curators, conservators, cataloguers and collections managers as they clean, restore, and research the province's treasures.

Explore the history of some of the first money used in Canada at the Colony of Avalon in Ferryland. Rare coins and artifacts from this exciting archaeological site are featured along with coins from the National Currency Collection in Ottawa.

A travelling exhibition from the Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum.

View some of our most interesting new things – antique artifacts, archaeological finds and specimens from nature - all recently acquired for the Museum in our three collecting areas - History, Archaeology & Ethnology and Natural History. Prepare to be intrigued.

Produced in partnership with St. John Ambulance - Newfoundland and Labrador Council - and in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the St. John Ambulance in 2010, this exhibition by The Rooms Provincial Archives Division features archival records relating to the St. John Ambulance, its operations and activities throughout 20th century Newfoundland and Labrador history from a collection of St. John Ambulance records recently donated to The Rooms Provincial Archives Division from St. John Ambulance. Exhibition highlights include textual records, photographic images, artifacts as well as medals and other artifacts relating to the proud 100 year history of the St. John Ambulance and its members, past and present. These wonderful artifacts include examples of the training materials; the work of the organization during wartime overseas and during special events within Newfoundland and Labrador; and the work of the St. John Ambulance to assist with the Newfoundland sealing disaster of 1914.

The exhibition also draws upon St. John Ambulance - related accessions and materials collected by The Rooms Provincial Archives over the past 30 years, as well as material from government records collections, albums, sports related collections and reference library material. In addition to appearing in this exhibition, these records are now fully described and available to the public for research and study.

Angela Antle, Pierre Leblanc and Anne Troake (Canada); and Slavek Kwi, Anthony Kelly and David Stalling (Ireland) have created artwork in response to visits to the Port au Port Peninsula, Newfoundland and Valentia Island, Ireland. Their moving image, photo-installation and sound works function as metaphors for change. Shorelines is organized through Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Art Gallery and curated by Charlotte Jones and Sean McCrum.

In 1610 the first English settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador was founded at Cupids, Conception Bay - the first English speaking community in what would become Canada. As part of the Cupids 400 celebrations this exhibition explores the early decades of English colonization in the region using rare original documents and archaeological artifacts that tell Cupids and its settler's tales. It delves into the impacts that the first generations of English Newfoundlanders and Labradorians had on the province.

Curated by Eve-Lyne Beaudry and organized by the Musée d'art de Joliette in Quebec, Haven of Delight features installations, drawings and paper cutouts by one of Canada's foremost contemporary artists. Ed Pien creates an immersive, phantasmagorical world of myths and wooded landscapes, peopled with strange characters including birds, bats and half-human - half-animal figures.

Madonna (1895-1902)
August 27 - November 28
Level 3

Edvard Munch's Madonna is at once alluring and unsettling. It embodies, since its creation, one of his most mysterious and troubling motifs; a powerful mix of sensuality, foreboding and anxiety. Best known for The Scream (1893), Munch was a printmaker/painter whose uneasy images explore themes linking sex and desire with darker tones of death and despair.

The One work Gallery presents a series of single masterworks from Western art history, on loan from public and private collectors around the world.

RESONANCE: Selections from the People's Collection
August 27 - Ongoing
Level 4

Newfoundland and Labrador's people and places have inspired our most significant and evocative artworks, many of which are included in the public legacy collections at The Rooms. Resonance offers visitors of all ages an ongoing opportunity to experience some of these works, as well as national and international art. Meaning and memory, creativity and learning are all part of this exhibition, enriched with information about artists, art contexts and techniques available through hands-on activities and new technologies.

Included are artists such as Anne Meredith Barry, Peter Bell, David Blackwood, Christopher Pratt, Mary Pratt, Helen Parsons Shepherd, Reginald Shepherd, Gerald Squires and Don Wright.

SHORT-SIGHTED
September - January, 2011
Level 4

In celebration of film festival season, this juried exhibition of one-minute video shorts seeks to tell a story; create a portrait; animate a new world. The works from artists of all ages and experiences are drawn from categories such as digital-based contemporary artwork, visual collage, fiction, experimental, documentary, animation, and music and explore various genres such as drama, comedy, mockumentary, satire, sci-fi, thriller, and horror. The jury will select a grand prize winner and you can cast your vote in the gallery for the Viewer¿s Choice Award.

Al-Mutanabbi Street Broadside Project
September 15 – November 27
Atrium Vitrines

For hundreds of years, letterpress printers have created broadsides to let the world know about the events of our time, commemorating these moments with handcrafted words and images pressed into paper. Put up quickly in the places where people walk and gather – their visually bold and easily accessible messages do one thing simply – spread the word. The al- Mutanabbi Street Broadsides are a collection of 130 letterpress poster artworks commemorating the March 5, 2007 bombing of Baghdad’s al-Mutanabbi Street. Named after a famed 10th century classical Arab poet, al-Mutanabbi, the street is a legendary location in Baghdad, a place where books have been sold for centuries and the historic center of Baghdad’s intellectual and literary community.

In partnership with The Book Arts Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, this exhibition that will travel from the United States to Canada and Europe before culminating at an exhibition in Baghdad, Iraq.

Inner Works: Selections from the People’s Collection
September 24 – Ongoing
Level 4

Inner Works presents significant artworks from The Rooms’ permanent collection, offering visitors of all ages encounters with art and self-directed exploration. These works are elemental to the continuing stories of our collections and the visual arts in this province. Included are artists such as Anne Meredith Barry, Peter Bell, David Blackwood, Christopher Pratt, Mary Pratt, Helen Parsons Shepherd, Reginald Shepherd, Gerald Squires and Don Wright.

Elena Popova: Still Vortices
October 8 - January 16, 2011
Level 4

Elena Popova’s drawings are assured, emotionally rich and spatially complex. Still Vortices presents Popova’s latest series of abstractions, each a balance of intuitive spontaneity and formal control. Considering the nature of life as an ever-changing process, Popova’s art marks temporary registrations of the physical and spiritual world in a state of flux.

Coastal Women in Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador
October 28 – March 2011
Level 3

Coastal Women in Pre-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador documents women’s experiences in outport communities prior to 1949. Interweaving archival photographs and documents, the exhibition highlights women’s central roles in community life: making fish, keeping gardens, raising children, creating crafts, supporting churches, schools and community organizations. The exhibition also illustrates women who worked as teachers, nurses, retail clerks, bookkeepers, telegraphers, post mistresses, midwives, and domestic servants in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Natural Legacies: Joseph Banks in Newfoundland and Labrador
Fall 2010 - Spring 2011
Level 3

Joseph Banks was one of the first Europeans to visit Newfoundland and Labrador with the sole purpose of collecting and classifying its flora and fauna. His 1766 voyage here amassed a collection of specimens and notes that continue to shape scientific thought and efforts today. Courtesy of the Australian High Commission, the exhibition features an exact replica of his voyage diary and some of the specimens he collected on that trip.

This exhibition is presented in partnership with the Department of Environment & Conservation.

Barb Hunt
December 10 – February 20, 2011
Level 3

Well known for her textile-based installations, Barb Hunt continues to explore themes of mourning, human conflict and memory. Using camouflage fabric as a central theme and material, Hunt’s art considers the human costs of armed conflict balanced by a deep empathy for individuals, including soldiers, in areas of hostility. Beyond depicting the absurdity of war, Hunt’s nuanced installations contemplate the fragility and beauty of the human body.

Encountering Grenfell: Vision and Legacy is a look at Sir Wilfred Grenfell and his life's mission in Newfoundland and Labrador. Embracing the peoples and harsh environment of Labrador and the northern regions of the island, Grenfell's efforts extended far beyond medical care. Providing education, skills in arts and crafts, and self sufficiency in agriculture and animal husbandry, he sought to improve the socio-economic condition of those in the region.

Find out why so many people from Trepassey to Tilting describe themselves as Irish Newfoundlanders. An Tine Beo: The Living Tradition Newfoundland - Ireland Archival Records - visit this new information station and search photos and finding aids allowing you to begin to uncover your own Irish roots.

A project of the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ireland, with generous support from Tom and Susan Foran.

This exhibition introduces you to the Irish who have been here since the late 1600s while exploring the communities they built and celebrating the contributions they made to life here in Newfoundland.

A project of the governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ireland, with generous support from Tom and Susan Foran.

Connections : This Place and Its Early Peoples
Ongoing
Level 3, Museum

A Tour de Fort
Ongoing
Atrium

Stroll the grounds of Fort Townshend where British soldiers marched and police paraded. Inside, interpretive panels tell the story of this 18th century symbol of England’s domination over the international fishery and the proud history of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary who have made the site their home since 1870.