Upgrades and new exhibits coming to two museums

Two museums will have new artifacts on display during summer and fall after receiving a grant from the Manitoba government.

Gardenton Ukrainian Museum and Village Society Inc. (UMVS) will have a new layout, artifacts, and exhibit in time for its upcoming festival. It received $12,600 in funding for new display cases, and other preserving tools.

The Sprague and District Historical Museum will open an exhibit for Indigenous history after receiving $5,000 in funding.

Both museums received funding from a Manitoba government grant.

The Gardenton Ukrainian Festival is on July 12 and it’s also its 60th anniversary.

Jeannine Brandt, chair of the UMVS museum committee, said the space had the same artifacts and displays for many years and the current display cases were donated and aren’t the best for preservation.

The grant will go towards new custom built display cases and de-humidifiers to preserve their artifacts longer.

“It’s really rewarding,” said Brandt. “Volunteering for me could be a full-time job if I let it, because l just love using my skills to help the community… I hope that’s something I can pass on to future generations and encourage younger people to get in and help us.”

Brandt grew up in the Gardenton area and was volunteering with the museum on and off as a child. She has also been performing Ukrainian dancing in the festival for 12 years.

The museum will release new religious pictures, image descriptions, and lithographs from Ukraine and replicas in time for its festival.

“Many small museums struggle with this, there’s just so much that needs to be done and so much gets left behind and it’s all on the shoulders of volunteers,” she said.

The volunteers are also restoring their clay oven, known as pich in Ukrainian.

“It’s kind of sad that it hasn’t been done sooner because the people that did bake in the oven and did know how to find the right clay and materials are not with us anymore. So I’m really hoping we do them justice and make them proud,” said Brandt.

Brandt said they plan to have local bakers use the oven and make fresh bread for the festival.

The Sprague and District Historical Museum’s Indigenous history building will officially be opening on Sept. 20, but it will be available with some of its displays over the summer.

Doris Hovorka, chair of the museum, said there will be new Indigenous paintings, pictures, artifacts, beading, a Louis Riel history, and a garden with Indigenous people’s plants.

“You have to apply for grants every year otherwise you won’t survive,” said Hovorka, 86.

Cam Brown, a board member of the museum, is writing a 120-page book about the RM of Piney’s local history.

Brown said the book mainly focuses on the stories from the Cobiness family and will be used for the gallery.

Ernest Cobiness is an Anishinaabe painter from Buffalo Point First Nation, and his father was one of the Group of Seven painters, Eddy Cobiness.

“The histories has always been there with our stories and teachings,” said Cobiness. “It’s always been here.”

Cobiness said he plans to paint a mural of his great grandfather, great uncles, and some of the settlers at the museum.