UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS
OF MANITOBA
Virtual Tour: Canadian
Museum for Human Rights
The Conference will include a 75-minute virtual tour of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Friday, May 27th, 2022 at 1:30 Central Time.
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The CMHR is situated at The Forks on land donated by the Forks Renewal Corporation. The inspiration for the museum came from Israel Asper, a Winnipeg lawyer, politician, and businessman. His inspiration was the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.
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The purpose of the Museum is to both commemorate and educate. Thus, it has a three-fold purpose: to explore the development of the concept of human rights; to examine human rights in a Canadian and international context; and to promote respect for the human rights of all people.
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Funding for the Museum came from three sources: the federal, provincial, and city governments, the Asper Family Foundation, and the Friends of the Museum for Human Rights.
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An architectural competition awarded the design to Antoine Predack and Chris Beccome of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Construction began in 2008. In 2010 the Queen brought a corner stone from Runnymede, site of the signing of the Magna Carta. The Museum was officially opened in 2014.
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In terms of the design, the building moves from "earth" to "sky" as visitors ascend the concrete ramps from floor to floor, finally arriving at the "Tower of Hope".
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There are ten galleries with permanent displays, beginning with an exhibition on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose articulation in 1948 had notable Canadian involvement.
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Thereafter galleries focus on such issues as Indigenous rights, women's rights, and particular events such as the Winnipeg General Strike. There is an in-depth Holocaust gallery.
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In addition to the permanent galleries there are several galleries which host temporary exhibitions. At present, there are three temporary exhibitions:
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1) Activism -- April 30, 2021-April 30, 2022
2) Witness Blanket: Preserving the Legacy -- April 30, 2021-May 1, 2022
3) Articulating our Rights: July 30, 2021-June 30, 2022.
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Website: https://humanrights.ca/visit/explore-the-museum-from-home