The year 2014 marks the ROM’s 100th anniversary. We are already working on a spectacular year-long celebration, not just of our legacy, but as a kick off to our next century of building community through relevant, surprising and lively content and programming. Here's a sampling of what we are working on.
ROM ReCollects: A History of the ROM as told by its Visitors
We are inviting our most important partners—you, our audience—to help us chronicle the history of this great museum. By logging into ROM ReCollects on our website, you can submit your favourite memories, reflections, photos, and spoken words to our chronicle of the ROM. Share with us your fondest memories, funniest stories or most memorable moments. (Here’s a special callout to Summer Camp participants over the past 70-plus years: we’re hoping to compile a special tribute to this longstanding family tradition!) And watch our website for ongoing updates to what is sure to be a fun and nostalgic stroll through our history.
ROM 100 Exhibitions
Throughout 2014, the Museum galleries will be featuring curated retrospectives from among our areas of focus—Ancient Cultures, Biodiversity, Contemporary Culture, Canada, Earth & Space, Fossils & Evolution, Textiles & Fashions, and World Art & Culture. Prepare to be surprised as we cover everything from the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon to the history of Decorative Arts over the last 100 years. Oh yes, you should expect to run into Charles Currelly a few times over the year. (Who is Charles Currelly? Search our website to find out.)
Lectures, Conferences and Symposia
The Centennial Celebrations will not be all fun and silliness. Work is already under way planning some serious gatherings focusing on the Future of Museums in a Digital World. Watch our website calendar, ROM Magazine and our newsletters for details throughout the year!
Parties, Parties, Parties
Not surprisingly, we will be hosting numerous different birthday celebrations, for kids, for grownups, for patrons and members, for everyone essentially. There will be a fancy black-tie gala co-chaired by Senator Nicole Eaton and Bonnie Brooks in November 2014, hipster Friday Night Live events and, of course, there will be parties for sitting on the floor eating cake and ice cream with your classmates. Details to come.
Love the ROM
In honour of the ROM’s centennial, we hope you will take part in our special community fundraising campaign called Love the ROM. Show your love for the ROM and celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime moment in the Museum's history by making a commemorative centennial gift in your name, or in a loved one's name, and receive special recognition in our centennial year! Supporters who donate $150 or more to the campaign will be recognized on the ROM website, and donors who give $1,000 or more will be invited to share their unique ROM stories and memories, or wishes to loved ones in the future, in a centennial memory book that will become a permanent part of the ROM collections for generations to come.
The Book of ROM
Working in collaboration with The Walrus Foundation, in 2014 the ROM will be publishing in book form a collection of essays from some of Canada best and most influential writers, offering contemporary perspectives on our collections and the way people relate to them.
ROM Magazine Looks Back
Our award-winning magazine, formerly known as Rotunda, in continuous print since 1968, will be highlighting special features throughout the year celebrating some of the red letter moments of the last 100 years. Look for archived advertising and news coverage, reprints of vintage photos, reminiscences of long-ago visitors, and an ongoing series of articles examing the past and future of the ROM.
