The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Out of a Home.
Is the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography in Ottawa starting from square one?
©CMCP Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ottawa Canada
In 1992, after a long battle, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography (CMCP) moved into their stand-alone national museum. The beautiful and unique building was situated along the canal and beside Parliament Hill. With it’s 200 000 collection, it hosted exhibitions and archives for 14 years. In 2006, the CMCP had to temporarily move to the National Gallery of Canada because of water damage to the building.
But now their temporary stay has recently seemed to have been extended. The museum’s lease for the federally owned property has been transferred to the Department of Public Works.
“For someone very interested in the cultural sphere,” she says, “I just find it to be one of these exquisite moments of transparency when this government – which has shown such contempt for the arts – is now going to use the space that was a community space and an arts space to feather their own nests, and set themselves up with a nice view of the locks.” (Quote from Martha Langford, the founding director of the CMCP. Quoted from the National Post)
This is extremely frustrating to hear. For the past 2 years, with the new federal Conservative government, artists have been fighting more and more for their rights and funding. Federal grants have been cut, the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver are seen as a cultural event, highly regarded institutions such as Les Grands Ballets Canadien are now suffering because of cut backs. People, like Martha Langford, have worked and fought extremely hard creating ways for artists to have a voice and a place in the community. With Stephen Harper’s Conservative government continuing its path of destruction, the rebuilding and mopping the mess will be a long one. This recent news has topped them all.
Read the entire article on National Post and the Times Colonist.
About Aislinn
Aislinn Leggett is a Montreal-based photographer. You can learn more about her work on her website and on her personal blog. You can also follow her Twitter @aislinnleggett and on Facebook.
