Salon Chair, 1920
A lot can change in a century.
2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Canadian federal government providing many Canadian women the right to vote.
To recognize this milestone, Museum London has introduced a new exhibit, titled, Women’s Lives in Canada: A History, 1875-2000. The exhibit explores what it meant to be female in Canada from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty first century.
Amber Lloydlangston is the Curator for Regional History and the mastermind behind the entire feature.
Creating the exhibit forced her to realize how much progress the country has been made for women over the past 100 years.
“The nature of the choices available to women are so much different. We live better lives just because of more opportunities in so many areas”
ex. female office attire throughout 1980’s
The exhibit focuses on the areas of:
- family
- education
- work
What makes this exhibit so unique is that it hangs on the experiences of a mother-daughter duo. “I wanted to tell a story that showed how those two women were both typical and atypical for Canadian women in this time frame.”
This feature is one that visitors will be able to relate with because, “The stories are universal. As women, we understand so many different roles. I think people will be curious to see the change over time. There are many things that have remained constant but there has been such change overtime and thats something I really tried to reveal here.”
And in terms of change, the younger generations will have a lot to learn.
“I think young girls will be able to come through and recognize how much opportunity has been created for them. Choices for work and education are so vast compared to what they were. It’s all improved, girls know they will go to post secondary or they know they can run a company one day. Women were not able to choose between being a nurse or being a doctor, being a secretary rather than being a boss, the option wasn’t available like it is today. There was no option.”
Lloydlangston designed the exhibit with the theme of community in mind, so that people who come through can bond with one another. “We think it will be a show where people can ask each other questions and compare their own family history. We want it to encourage intergenerational questioning amongst our visitors.”
The exhibit will run from now until May 6.
