Hot Topic posts come from the desk of Jacquie Severs, our Manager, Communications & Social Media. 

Last night I went to Whitby to meet with a group of art gallery and museum workers known as the Museum & Art Gallery Educators Collective - Durham, or MAGEC-D. This collective is aimed at those who live and work in Durham Region in the Museum and Art Gallery field, but it is open to all who are interested and includes members from Peterborough as well as recent graduates from programs such as Fleming College's Museum Management. 

I attended the meeting last night at the request of Christine Castle, a Museum Education Consultant and publisher of the Museum Education Monitor. I was pleased to lead a discussion on social media within educational efforts at museums and galleries. It was a fun, chatter-filled night with each institution who attended sharing their ideas and progress, challenges and triumphs. 

From my perspective social media can offer insight into what happens behind-the-scenes and bring the collections out to the community in new and engaging ways. It helps us open up our vaults, so to speak, to show what it is we do and educate our friends locally, regionally, nationally and even internationally about our collection and historic significance. Social Media is often thought of as purely marketing but the educational components are so inspiring as well. 

Two examples of using social media in the education department here at the RMG are our Youtube page, which offers behind the scenes looks at installations and the projects that our summer campers create, and our Facebook fan page, which shows student work from our many classes and camps each Tuesday. 

Here are all the institutions that participated last night and their various homes on the web. If you are interested in history, culture and the arts in Durham Region, following along with each profile will provide you with loads of interesting and educational content.

Museum Education Monitor

 Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Blog

Station Gallery, Whitby

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Blog

Oshawa Community Museum

 Website
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Foursquare
Pinterest 

Art Gallery of Peterborough

Website
Facebook 

Pickering Museum

Website 
Tumblr
Flickr
Youtube
Facebook
Twitter 

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog (you're here!)
Youtube
Foursquare
About.me

What would you like to see your local gallery and museum do using social media websites? What kind of content interests you? We'd love to hear from you in our comments section.

Top Ten Reasons Jian Ghomeshi should visit Oshawa

10. It’s just 35km from Toronto. It’ll only use up a small portion of Q’s travel budget.

9. Everyone already knows about Hamilton, London, Stratford, Guelph and Kingston. What do people know about Oshawa? If your answer involves anything to do with cars, it doesn’t count.

8. Oshawhat!? magazine, Durham’s “Village Voice” or “Now Magazine” is launching and it needs a cover story.

7. Parkwood Mansion is here. They filmed Billy Madison and X Men there. Plus it’s super pretty and a national monument. But…BILLY MADISON!!

6. Because Jian and us have one friend in common on facebook and we didn’t ask her to ask him for us. We respect boundaries.

5. Our downtown core is being revitalized. UOIT (University of Ontario Institute of Technology for you non-locals) has set up shop and has renovated two beautiful historic buildings, the Regent Theatre and the Alger Press. They are really great examples of what historians and architects and universities can do if they all get together in one room. UOIT is a diverse university with students from over 65 countries, but we also have Durham College and Trent University in Oshawa, with a student population projected to reach 22,500 within the next three years. Oh, and Queen's University is setting up shop too.

4. We’ve got a bad reputation. We don’t have the Bard or the Beibs like Stratford. (In fact, what Shakespeare we do have, we take on the road with the Bard’s Bus tour by the Driftwood Theatre Company). We don’t have Margaret Atwood. We don’t have Sarah Harmer. Actually, we’re very punk rock and a lot of our arts events are grassroots, not for profit, unsponsored and totally local-focused. Oshawa is the unexpected and controversial choice.

3. The Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s First Fridays event series is the coolest thing happening in Durham Region right now. Bands play, artists make stuff, photos get taken, people drink beer, sometimes even dance crews show up and breakdance. All of this in a gallery that houses thousands of masterpieces of Canadian modern and contemporary art. It’s shwasome.

2. Speaking of live music; our music scene rules. Cuff the Duke, Diamond Rings, Timber Timbre, Anagram, Steppenwolf, Blue Rodeo, Hairy Holler, The Stellas, Forest City Lovers, Viva Mars, The Marvelous Beauhunks, The Purple Toads, Volcano Playground, Evening Hymns, Lori Yates, Bradley Boy, Sunbear, Durango 95, K-os, Patrick Dorie, Reign Ghost and The Stables all have ties here. (And if they don’t in your view, well…too bad. We’re claiming them anyhow, ‘cause we’re punk rock like that.) Meanwhile we have an independent record label (Get Bent Records) and an independent vinyl shop (Star Records) in town. We’ve got so many talented musicians here, we’ve probably missed some on this list.

1. We’re Shwasome. Calling us “the shwa” or the “dirty shwa” is soooooo 2001.

JOIN the campaign!! Like --> www.facebook.com/QinOshawa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Oshawa, November 29, 2011

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery brings Oshawa into CBC Radio competition for live broadcast of Jian Ghomeshi’s “Q”.

It all started as a conversation at last week’s successful creative class event the Art of Transition Tourism Summit. With so much happening in Oshawa and Durham’s creative culture scene, the desire to bring attention to the various projects and opportunities in the area has never been greater. Staff from The Robert McLaughlin Gallery suggested this idea on twitter, and the tweet was recognized by CBC Radio 1 personality Jian Ghomeshi. The Q host has recently been promoting a campaign that cities could enter to bring his show to their community.

Never one to back down from a challenge, RMG CEO Gabrielle Peacock took up the cause, issuing more tweets and imploring staff to get on board. “We’ve got a lot happening here, just 35km from the city. Q shines a light on culture: music, art, theatre and more. This is why we want Oshawa selected -- it’s not about what people know about us, it’s an opportunity for Jian and the Q listeners to discover some cultural assets in their own backyards. We’re joining the contest later than other cities, but we’ve got a lot of heart and think we have a shot at winning,” Peacock told staff. Staff jumped on board in just a few days a Facebook page has emerged as well as the promise to guests at the RMG’s monthly cultural event series “First Fridays” that this week’s event (December 2, 7pm) will include a way to get involved and show support.

“First Fridays has become a staple in the local culture diet,” says RMG Manager of Communications and Social Media, Jacquie Severs. “It’s the right place to promote this campaign. This week we feature Jazz performers The Gillian Margot Trio, alongside the photography exhibition “Susan Dobson: By Design” and the AIDS Committee of Durham Region’s “POZitive Portrayals” that features work by HIV Positive artists. We’ll have a photo booth with local photographer Marina Osmond. The event shows how diverse our cultural offerings are here. We wish Jian could come and see it for himself, we aren’t just a car town anymore!”

The RMG needs community support to make the campaign more powerful. Having already received votes of confidence from PFLAG Durham and Durham College’s Downtown Oshawa News, the RMG now needs ‘likes’ on its Facebook page, tweets with the hashtag #QinOshawa and community partnerships.  Local record label Get Bent Records has offered to bring bands to perform for Q. The RMG hopes other local arts & culture staples will get on board.

Oshawa’s mayor John Henry issued a statement of support, highlighting the RMG as an important asset in the campaign. “With the public’s support we can bring into the light one of Oshawa’s best kept secrets.”

“This is a grassroots effort, we need all the support we can get! The RMG is prepared to donate 20 memberships to community groups and businesses who offer support and services,” says Gabrielle Peacock.

To stay on top of the campaign please visit and like: www.facebook.com/QinOshawa

-30-

___________________________________________________________

THE ROBERT McLAUGHLIN GALLERY

72 Queen Street, Civic Centre, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 3Z3

905-576-3000 

www.rmg.on.ca

Yesterday we were at the Art of Transition Tourism Summit and Creative Awards. An electric atmosphere was in that room; it was filled with like-minded individuals, those that care about Durham Region's transition from a manufacturing economy to a creative economy. Artists, business people, musicians, dancers, chefs, writers, art galleries, museums, crafts people, engineers, students, filmmakers, ski hill operators, sustainability advocates, farmers, designers, communicators and more came together to highlight the importance of arts and culture in our community.

It is appropriate that it was during this event that we decided to lead the charge to bring Jian Ghomeshi and his CBC show Q to Oshawa. 

Q is an energetic daily arts, culture and entertainment magazine that takes you on a smart and surprising ride, interviewing personalities and tackling the cultural issues that matter.