VICTORIA – The City of Victoria is excited to welcome the Maritime Museum of British Columbia to a new interim home beside the Victoria Conference Centre, while the museum continues its drive to secure a permanent home on the water in downtown Victoria.
Beginning in August, the museum will open in a 3,000-square-foot City-owned store frontage on Douglas Street that will include public gallery space for exhibits, programming, events, research and administration.
“This is a game-changer for the Maritime Museum, enabling us to stay downtown on Lekwungen territory,” said Jamie Webb, President of the Maritime Museum. “The enthusiastic support of Mayor Helps, Council and City staff equips the Museum with an ideal interim space while we continue to explore options for a permanent waterfront location.”
The City is also supporting the museum with enhanced signage and wayfinding in the downtown area to make sure the new temporary home is well visible and accessible to the public.
“The Maritime Museum of BC is a vital institution that tells the important and complex story of our province’s maritime history. The Board’s decision to stay in the city centre is one more vote of confidence in our downtown economy,” said Mayor Lisa Helps. “We are excited about the new possibilities the museum can bring to our growing downtown cultural precinct that offers a world-class selection of museums, art galleries and cultural experiences.”
“Relocating to a larger space beside the Victoria Conference Centre will allow us to rethink how we serve the community. Expanded gallery space will provide the opportunity for new community-based exhibits. There will also be flex space we can use to offer more programming. We look forward to sharing more information on these new initiatives in the coming months,” said Maritime Museum Executive Director Brittany Vis.
The museum’s final day at their current Nootka Court location will be July 17. The current exhibit, “The SS Valencia, a Theatre of Horror” runs until closing and then will reopen in the new location in August once move-in is complete. More information about re-opening plans will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information about the Maritime Museum of BC, visit mmbc.bc.ca.
