The Canadian Museum for Human Rights/CMHR in Winnipeg Manitoba was originally conceived by media entrepreneur Israel Asper, who established a foundation in 2003 to create the museum, and was created via the efforts of members of the Asper family along with many others. Friends of the CMHR was formed as a registered charity in 2002, a public and private sector partnership.
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The central concept of the museum was to promote human rights awareness through innovative teaching initiatives. Prominent among these was the creation of a national student travel programme that would bring 20,000+ students each year to the museum.
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Museum with central city in the background
Designed by U.S architect Antoine Predock, the museum was only Canada's 5th national museum, and the first national museum to be built outside the National Capital Region. Known for his skill in interpreting regional identity through buildings, Predock created forms that were appropriate to landscapes and to human experience. His designs showed how human beings could interact spiritually with a building, technology, the natural environment and each other. In this unconventional structure of curving lines and bold geometry, the surfaces were irregular and the walls sloped at unusual angles.
glowing, criss-crossing ramps to the galleries
USA Today
Visitors savour the beauty of the architecture, especially the backlit alabaster ramps in the Hall of Hope, pools of water in the Garden of Contemplation and the Asper Tower of Hope, a 100-metre glass spire with views over the city skyline. There is also a coffeeshop with great city views and since the Museum is a place to learn, the coffeeshop is a peaceful, fine place to reflect on human rights.
The central concept of the museum was to promote human rights awareness through innovative teaching initiatives. Prominent among these was the creation of a national student travel programme that would bring 20,000+ students each year to the museum.
Building started in 2009 and the opening ceremonies took place in Sept 2014 for the galleries in this important cultural institution. Its goal was to enhance the public's understanding of human rights, to encourage reflection and dialogue. It examined human rights worldwide, focusing on human rights in a Canadian context.
Opened to the public in 2014, the Museum dominates the city skyline and is a special building architecturally outside and in. Spanning seven floors, the museum is brilliantly curated. There are 11 galleries spread across the museum, showing an array of human rights issues: What are Human Rights; Indigenous perspectives; Canadian Journeys; Protecting Rights in Canada; Examining the Holocaust; Turning Points for Humanity; Breaking the Silence; Actions Count, Rights Today; Inspiring Change; Expressions.
Opened to the public in 2014, the Museum dominates the city skyline and is a special building architecturally outside and in. Spanning seven floors, the museum is brilliantly curated. There are 11 galleries spread across the museum, showing an array of human rights issues: What are Human Rights; Indigenous perspectives; Canadian Journeys; Protecting Rights in Canada; Examining the Holocaust; Turning Points for Humanity; Breaking the Silence; Actions Count, Rights Today; Inspiring Change; Expressions.
Indigenous perspectives
CMHR
Winnipeg was a significant choice for the museum's location. This city played a role in important historical events eg the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, that affected Canada’s civil rights movement, advancement of Indigenous Peoples, women, French speakers and workers. It was home to one of Canada's most diverse communities, linking Francophones, First Nations, Métis and immigrant societies.
The Indigenous Perspectives gallery included a commissioned work by Ojibwa artist Rebecca Belmore, a handmade ceramic blanket from a series examining the ongoing trauma of Indigenous Peoples. Canadian Journeys featured residential schools exhibits, forced relocation of the Inuit, internment of Japanese Canadians in WW2, Chinese head tax, Underground Railroad, Komagata Maru and the Winnipeg General Strike. Examining The Holocaust also explored other genocides eg Ukrainian Famine 1932-3, Armenian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia.
The museum was plagued by controversy from 2 directions. In 2008-12, archaeologists Sid Kroker and David McLeod excavated the museum’s building site and recovered c400,000 ancient Indigenous artefacts. Therefore the site may’ve been an inappropriate location for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, especially if it was located right on an Indigenous burial ground.
The second controversy was the separate galleries allotted to the Holocaust and the persecution of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. From 2010, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Canadians for Genocide Education and German-Canadian Congress stated that it was improper to give special status to two gross violations of human rights over others eg Ukrainians’ internment in camps across Canada (1914-20).
I Helen see two other problems. This Museum is a member of the Canadian Heritage Portfolio and reports to Parliament through its Minister. How would anyone know if a Canadian Heritage Minister had pressured the museum to cast Canada’s human rights record positively. And there is rarely unanimity on what destroys human rights. I would gaol any father who raped his daughter, if he wouldn’t allow an abortion. Others would gaol me for killing a foetus.
Alongside the permanent galleries, see the temporary exhibitions. The exhibit Climate Justice highlighted the connections between human rights and climate change, making youth activism stand out. In 2019, youth worldwide went on school strikes, taking over city streets and loudly denouncing inaction on climate change. They filled the streets and protested with signs expressing anger and fear about THEIR future, not their parents’. Greta Thunberg (15) went on a school strike in 2018, igniting a global movement. 500,000 people protested in Montreal with her in Sep 2019 and there were more strikes in 150 different cities that day.
There were and are so many people around the world who, for too much of history, have been denied basic human rights, stripped of and persecuted because of their culture, religion and identity. It is absolutely necessary to bring these stories from around the world stories to light. Ultimately, as the museum’s website states, the museum strives “to build understanding, promote respect, and encourage reflection.”
The Indigenous Perspectives gallery included a commissioned work by Ojibwa artist Rebecca Belmore, a handmade ceramic blanket from a series examining the ongoing trauma of Indigenous Peoples. Canadian Journeys featured residential schools exhibits, forced relocation of the Inuit, internment of Japanese Canadians in WW2, Chinese head tax, Underground Railroad, Komagata Maru and the Winnipeg General Strike. Examining The Holocaust also explored other genocides eg Ukrainian Famine 1932-3, Armenian Genocide, Rwandan Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia.
The museum was plagued by controversy from 2 directions. In 2008-12, archaeologists Sid Kroker and David McLeod excavated the museum’s building site and recovered c400,000 ancient Indigenous artefacts. Therefore the site may’ve been an inappropriate location for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, especially if it was located right on an Indigenous burial ground.
The second controversy was the separate galleries allotted to the Holocaust and the persecution of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. From 2010, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Canadians for Genocide Education and German-Canadian Congress stated that it was improper to give special status to two gross violations of human rights over others eg Ukrainians’ internment in camps across Canada (1914-20).
I Helen see two other problems. This Museum is a member of the Canadian Heritage Portfolio and reports to Parliament through its Minister. How would anyone know if a Canadian Heritage Minister had pressured the museum to cast Canada’s human rights record positively. And there is rarely unanimity on what destroys human rights. I would gaol any father who raped his daughter, if he wouldn’t allow an abortion. Others would gaol me for killing a foetus.
Alongside the permanent galleries, see the temporary exhibitions. The exhibit Climate Justice highlighted the connections between human rights and climate change, making youth activism stand out. In 2019, youth worldwide went on school strikes, taking over city streets and loudly denouncing inaction on climate change. They filled the streets and protested with signs expressing anger and fear about THEIR future, not their parents’. Greta Thunberg (15) went on a school strike in 2018, igniting a global movement. 500,000 people protested in Montreal with her in Sep 2019 and there were more strikes in 150 different cities that day.
There were and are so many people around the world who, for too much of history, have been denied basic human rights, stripped of and persecuted because of their culture, religion and identity. It is absolutely necessary to bring these stories from around the world stories to light. Ultimately, as the museum’s website states, the museum strives “to build understanding, promote respect, and encourage reflection.”
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The exhibits explore human rights issues such as Indigenous rights, disability rights, gay rights, and stories of war and genocide that people continue to face. And while it is often a moving and emotional experience, there ARE many stories of triumph, courage and the human ability to survive. Witness the power of hope and triumph in the face of the greatest challenges to human rights.