Virtual exhibition about Aurora Town Park coming in 2017

Yorkregion.com
May 27, 2016
By Teresa Latchford

The Aurora Museum and Archives will go online with an exhibition about Town Park.

The museum has been awarded $10,000 from the Virtual Museum of Canada’s Community Memories investment program that will allow it to create an online exhibition focused on Town Park. The virtual exhibition will narrate the park’s story from establishment in the mid-1800s to present day.

“This investment from the Virtual Museum of Canada will enable the Aurora Museum & Archives not only to share historical stories relating to Town Park in a compelling format, but also to document the continuing narrative of this special place from current residents,” Curator Shawna White said.

The project will track the evolution of the park and its relationship to the surrounding neighbourhood and the town.

It is expected to be launched in June 2017.

“I am pleased to receive this federal investment that will help highlight one of the oldest treasures of Aurora, Town Park,” Mayor Geoff Dawe said. “This funding not only showcases an important piece of Aurora’s history but also focuses on the importance of the past and how it relates to the future.”

Aurora’s Town Park, located at Wells and Mosley streets, is an example of an intentionally planned green space that is bordered by a mix of residential, industrial and commercial buildings. The activities and events in the park have changed over the years but the function as a community space has been constant.

The Aurora Museum & Archives will host a series of story-sharing events as part of the project research process. The events will involve partners such as the Aurora Public Library, Aurora Historical Society and will provide individuals an opportunity to tell their own personal stories and memories in the park.

The Virtual Museum of Canada is the largest digital source of stories and experiences shared by Canada’s museums and heritage organizations. The VMC’s Community Memories investment program helps smaller Canadian museums and heritage organizations work with their communities to develop virtual exhibits that engage online audiences in the stories, past and present, of Canada’s communities.