September 2016

Monthly Archive: September 2016

#ThrowbackThursday: Keep Me Warm One Night

Posted: September 29, 2016 - 10:00 , by ROM
Picture of Keep Me Warm One Night installation

Exactly forty-five years ago, in September, 1971, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) opened the landmark exhibition Keep me Warm One Night, a kaleidoscopic display of over 500 pieces of Canadian handweaving. It was the culmination of decades of pioneering research and collecting by the ROM curatorial powerhouse duo ‘Burnham and Burnham’, aka Dorothy K. Burnham and Harold B. Burnham.

Trees for Toronto - Our Urban Forest

Posted: September 22, 2016 - 12:05 , by ROM
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evening sunlight streams through the leaves and branches of the trees in Queen's Park, casting shadows on the green grass. Photo by Rhi More

Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Rhi More

Bringing more attention to trees is what the Royal Ontario Museum had in mind when its botanists and Creative Department partnered with the City of Toronto Urban Forester’s Office to create Trees for Toronto in 2004. EVC Student Rhi More decided to check out this ‘urban arboretum’ for herself, and share the findings with our readers.

Exhibit A: Dior Dress

Posted: September 15, 2016 - 08:00 , by ROM
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Red dress with white panels and black beaded designs

“In a machine age, dressmaking is one of the last refuges of the human, the personal, the inimitable.”

— Christian Dior 

Commissioned by the ROM, Passage #5 was designed by John Galliano for Christian Dior Haute Couture. This dramatic coat-dress was inspired by fashion illustrator René Gruau’s drawings from the 1940s and 1950s and is a 21st-century reworking of Dior’s 1947 New Look collection (his first).

A Story of Ghana: Exploring the Asafo Flags at the ROM

Posted: September 14, 2016 - 15:48 , by ROM
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People holding up a handmade flag depicting birds.

Since the beginning of the month, the Royal Ontario Museum has been host to a stunning display of historic Ghanaian imagery, in the form of the flags used by the Asafo fighting groups to send messages to friends and enemies alike. These flags document many of the events and histories that were of value to the Fante states and are expressive, powerful, and of great importance to understanding the history of the region as we know it today. As a collection, they make up a fascinating display of aesthetic storytelling that reveals much, and gives each viewer a sense of what was important to each community under each flag at various points throughout each one's history, right up to the present day.

ROM 2016 Game Jam

Posted: September 14, 2016 - 15:33 , by ROM
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Written by EVC Student Matthew Brocklehurst

The ROM is back at it with its fourth annual Game Jam this weekend, September 16-18th! 

Animated logo for ROM Game Jam

A Family's Gift Inspired by a Mother's Dedication

Posted: September 8, 2016 - 08:00 , by ROM
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A wooden chair with a black and white pattern cushion

For the past 40 years, the ROM has been Barbara Chisholm’s main volunteer endeavour. She has guided thousands of visitors through the Museum, sharing her love of decorative arts and European history with the public, a delight to all those with the good fortune to experience her lively and engaging storytelling.

Students help Canadian Space Agency promote asteroid mission!

Posted: September 6, 2016 - 16:03 , by ROM
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Written by EVC student Matthew Brocklehurst

How do you get high school kids interested in space science? This was the question asked of Environmental Visual Communication (EVC) students by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).


EVC students working on a storyboard for their CSA video (photo by Vincent Luk).

The LMS Lab

Posted: September 6, 2016 - 08:00 , by ROM
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Three women in a lab running DNA testing

From discovering new species to preserving endangered ones, the ROM’s LMS uses genetic sequencing to study specimens.

Canada helps with historic space mission to asteroid Bennu

Posted: September 1, 2016 - 13:09 , by ROM
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Written by Christine Tovee, Aerospace Engineer/Technology Leader, ROM Volunteer

Tattoos: Famously Inked

Posted: September 1, 2016 - 08:00 , by ROM
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Tattooing has made a comeback as an emblem of choice and as an expression of one's identity in an ever more globalized world. It has acquired the status of an art form: tattooing has gravitated from the margins to the mainstream. From historical figures to modern celebrities, tattoos have spread throughout the ages. Bet you didn't realize these famous figures had tattoos...

1) Justin Trudeau