To Thine Own Self: Stratford Trashion Week Edition
To Thine Own Self: Stratford Trashion Week Edition is a textile and audio exhibit that looks at celebrating and exploring individuality and gender inclusivity presented at local event, Stratford Trashion Week, and on the Stratford Festival Stages. The exhibit features Stratford Trashion Week wearable art pieces and Stratford Festival photos and stories from local productions that made history through innovative, non-traditional presentations of gender that earned both accolades and raised eyebrows.
Stratford Trashion Week, started in 2018, is held every two years during Earth Week. This event brings together designers, artists, and creatives to transform discarded and repurposed materials into bold, one-of-a-kind fashion, while promoting sustainability and artistic autonomy. The fashion designs featured in the exhibit convey the revolutionary nature of modern textile art that emphasizes an environmental consciousness, genderfluid elements, and the creative latitudes of non-traditional casting in the fashion world.
Occupying two rooms of the historic house, the exhibit is complemented with an adjunct podcast where GM Kelly McIntosh interviews some of the most celebrated actors and theatre artists in Canada. Hear the stories told by the actors, directors and designers of the Stratford Festival whose vision and profound creativity sparked heated reaction from the audiences and the community through audio exploration and accompanying images. These captivating recordings include Martha Henry as Prospero, Amaka Umeh as Hamlet, Seana McKenna as Julius Caesar, and more.
A history of drag, not only on the local stage, but in the country will also be examined. Exhibit programming will aim to open up conversations inspired by those who grew up queer in Perth County, begging the question: how far did these non-traditional representations on an international stage travel down county lines, and at what benefit… or cost?
The exhibit is curated and produced by Stratford Trashion Week Organizers, Stratford Festival Archives, and the Stratford Perth Museum team.
Thank you to Stratford Trashion Week and the following participating artists, designers, and stylists:
Pamela Coneybeare and Middle Sister Vintage, Joanie Chapple and Collective District Vintage, CLAIRE UPCYCLED, Laura Jarvis, Bobby Raffin, Brenda Storey, and Kylie Wasser.
Aunt Harriet: An Ontario Oratorio
A Film Installation by HAUI
Aunt Harriet is a meditative moving portrait that explores themes of introspection, healing, and aging. Set against the backdrop of Wellington County, the work examines the realities of pigmentocracy* across Perth County, Ontario, and beyond. * “Government or rule by those of a particular skin colour; a social or political system in which status or privilege is determined by skin colour” (Oxford English Dictionary).
Aunt Harriet Miller, a singer from Wellington County, spent her final years at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Guelph, passing away in 1932 after losing her memory and family. In this surrealist spoken-word elegy, HAUI™ collaborates with Canadian icon ahdri zhina mandiela to evoke the experience of memory loss while illuminating Harriet’s life. Informed by the research of Dr. Jade Ferguson and Deirdre McCorkindale, with contributions from St. Joseph’s Health Centre and Guelph Museums, the work explores the power of Black healing and bridges past and present — myth and history.
HAUI™ is an award-winning mixed media artist directing, devising, and designing cross-disciplinary work for stage and screen. Notable achievements include the feature-film MixedUp (OUTtv), the immersive Private Flowers (Toronto History Museums), and directing his libretto Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White, praised as “a rare world premiere from the Canadian Opera Company marking a new entry in the country’s essential operatic canon” (Globe & Mail). Published by Playwrights Canada Press, HAUI™ served as the 2024 artist-in-residence for the City of Guelph, creating the audiovisual piece Aunt Harriet. He looks forward to continuing development on his upcoming projects in New York at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center and through a Chalmers Fellowship Grant to Cuba and Jamaica. As a producer, HAUI™ is part of OYA OBAC’s Producers Incubator.
This exhibit will be on display in our Indoor Cooperator’s Theatre from October 12, 2025 to January 12, 2026.
The Canadian Jewish Experience
November 10 to December 10, 2018
This amazing exhibit presents a powerful sample of Jewish contributions to Canada.
It has travelled for the past two years across Canada, to universities, museums, city halls and community centres. Among the nine different subject areas highlighted in the exhibit are the History of Jewish Migration, Arts and Culture, Business, Architects and City Builders, Sports Figures, and Human Rights Development.
Jews have lived in Canada for nearly 250 years. Their numbers were few at first, but grew with immigration. Their entry was not easy. Canada until the 1960s had professional, educational and immigration barriers and prejudices targeting Jews.
Today things have changed. Now nearly 400,000 Jewish people live in all Provinces and Territories in Canada, and contribute to the diverse cultural communities that thrive within Canada’s mosaic.
For more information, or to see additional online content for this exhibit, click here.
Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird
May 10 to November 8, 2018
The Stratford Perth Museum is proud to partner with the Monroe County Museum to present Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird exhibit for the summer of 2018. This is the first travelling exhibit ever created by the museum in Monroeville, Alabama.
This original and exclusive exhibit turns the pages of one the world’s most loved novels.
The iconic book is arguably one of the most enduring written works of our time and is as relevant today as it was in the 1930s when it was set and in the 1960s when it was published and despite dealing with an uncomfortable subject it has been a must read and loved book for generations.
Portrait of American novelist Harper Lee smokes a cigarette as she sits on the porch of her parents home, Monroeville, Alabama, May 1961. Lee’s novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was award the 1961 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction the previous month. (Photo by Donald Uhrbrock/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)
Similarly, the famous movie, which was so loyal to the plot of the novel, holds a special place in cinematic history and for many Gregory Peck will forever be Atticus Finch.
The exhibit examines that phenomenon – a book that is so important to individuals, holds a special place in American culture and is remarkably popular around the world having sold 30 million copies in 40 languages?
Thousands of people flock to Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville and the Monroe County Museum each year to see the exhibit Harper Lee: In Her Own Words. The museum is in the courthouse that was the setting for the climax of the movie.
The Stratford Perth Museum is very proud of its partnership with the Monroe County Museum and to be able to present this exhibit in 2018.
A Taste of Science
September 30 to December 20, 2017
Travelling Exhibit from the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.
Have you ever wondered why food spoils? A Taste of Science highlights the role science plays in delaying food decay and keeping food nutritious and safe for us to eat.
In this engaging experience, immerse yourself in an over-sized “pantry” and discover what makes food spoil, and different food preservation techniques. You’ll find lots to feed your mind and imagination on the menu!
Conceal/Reveal: Identity and the Stage at Stratford
May 1 to November 15, 2017
…Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On recounts the story of the initial years of Stratford’s Shakespearean Festival,
The Stratford Perth Museum is proud to be the venue for this exhibit created and curated by the Stratford Festival Archives.
The masks we hold up to face the world – to reveal our desired identity or conceal an inner self – are many and varied.
Through a dazzling range of props and costumes, at the Stratford Festival this exhibit 2017 exhibition will show how onstage masks and disguises are at the heart of drama.
Treasure Island: Live the Adventure
May 6 to November 15, 2017
This interactive exhibit augment’s the Stratford Festival production of Treasure Island being mounted this season at the Avon Theatre.
Geared for children, the exhibit explores the classic children’s story, its cast of unsavoury characters, as well as the book’s author Robert Louis Stevenson. Visitors to the Museum, both young and old, can dress up like Long John Silver, grab a sword, sport an eye patch and pose for a picture on the deck of a pirate ship. Or you can be a young Jim Hawkins and quietly hide in a barrel for safety. And there’s even a treasure map.
The Franklin Exploration
May 6 to October 1, 2017
This pop-up display, presented in conjunction with Parks Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum, examines the mysteries surrounding the Franklin Expedition and sheds light on the historical context of science and exploration in the 19th century. The display focuses on Inuit traditional knowledge, the reasons behind the fatal expedition and the clues collected during the initial research efforts. It allows the visitor to create links with contemporary research in the Arctic and the methodology and progress of ongoing scientific work in the Canadian North.
Supporting the exhibit are reproductions of Franklin Expedition artifacts, dive equipment, photos, and resource materials.
Nanuk’s Journey : Inuit Art from the Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario
May 6 to Sept. 24, 2017
Nanuk’s Journey features major sculptures from the AGO’s Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection. Focussed on the subject of Nanuk the polar bear, the exhibition compliments the Stratford Festival’s The Breathing Hole, a new play by Colleen Murphy directed by Reneltta Arluk (Gwich’in and Chipewyan-Cree).
Nanuk’s Journey is curated by Andrew Hunter (the AGO’s Fredrik S. Eaton Curator, Canadian Art) in consultation with Inuvialuit Reneltta Arluk. The exhibit includes work by: deceased Cape Dorset artist and hunter Tim Pitsiulak, Tudlik, Niviaksiak, Matthew Aqugaaq, David Ruben Piqtoukun, Osuitok Ipeelee, Pauta Saila, Andy Miki, Parr and Bill Nasogaluak, among other notable Inuit artists.
Following its presentation at the Stratford Perth Museum, the exhibition will be featured in the AGO’s Samuel and Esther Sarick Gallery.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Myths, Magic and Messages
To the Victor, the Spoils – Stratford Festival Archives Exhibit
May 1 to December 31, 2016
The Festival Archives explores the making of a king, from might to right, and the royal language of display.
A fascinating look at the visual language of power seen through the prism of the Stratford Festival Archive’s collection of royal costumes and crowns, with dazzling stage robes and jewels.
Curated by Festival Archives Director
Liza Giffen
Order to Disorder – Stratford Festival Archives
May 9th to October 18th, 2015
Audiences can discover dark inner and outer worlds through rare images, unique props, and historic costumes from some of the Stratford Festival’s extraordinary productions of King Lear and The Adventures of Pericles.
Shakespeare’s works are stories about light and darkness, order and chaos. They have shown generations not only chaotic outer and inner worlds, but also a deeper understanding of how suffering can carve a path to wisdom in this life.
Pericles and King Lear lead us into the darkness in the human heart and then back into the light of humanity. This exhibition demonstrates how these themes have been transferred to the Stratford Festival stage over past decades.
Anne Frank – A History for Today
June 6 to October 18th, 2015, December 20, 2015 to January 31, 2016
A travelling exhibit from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Anne Frank: A History for Today was presented in conjunction with the Stratford Festival’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank. It explored the life of Anne Frank and her family, from her early life in Germany, to their period in hiding in the Netherlands, and to their incarceration in various concentration camps. This information was presented through a detailed timeline of the Frank family, and the general history and events of the Second World War, and was accompanied by dozens of photographs.
This exhibit was augmented by 17 artifacts from the Montreal Memorial Holocaust Centre, including Jewish identity items, personal effects recovered from concentration camps, a 1947 edition of The Diary of Anne Frank in Dutch, and a prisoner’s uniform jacket from Auschwitz-Birkenau.
We would like to thank the Anne Frank House and the Stratford Festival for their involvement in hosting this exhibit.
For more information on the success of Anne Frank: A History for Today, see this news article.