Glanmore House

Melissa Wakeling: Education & Marketing Coordinator Glanmore National Historic Site, Belleville, Ontario

How has the pandemic affected you?

I was gearing up for March Break at the museum, one of our busiest weeks of the year, when suddenly we were temporarily closing the museum. It was a shock to the system. I definitely had a lot of heightened emotions. I still worry about my mom. I am her caretaker and she is in the high risk group so I don’t want to bring the virus home and make her sick. I know how fortunate I am to be able to continue working throughout this time.

Professionally we had to react quickly and find creative ways to keep people engaged with the museum during the closure. I worked on and promoted many different ways you can experience Glanmore from home. During a brainstorming session in the first week of the shutdown our team came up with the idea for Flattie Hattie, a Victorian paper doll that explores Glanmore and shares her adventures on our social media channels. Sometimes the simplest idea can have the most impact. Flattie Hattie has been a lot of fun and a welcome distraction for our followers as well as for our staff.

What professional opportunities are you seeing for the future?

The museum experience is changing dramatically as a result of COVID-19. Following provincial guidelines and consulting with other museum professionals, I am working with our staff to redefine what a visit to Glanmore will be like in the near future. When we reopen it will be very different from what we are used to. There will be timed entries, limited numbers of visitors at one time, constant cleaning, virtual public programs and virtual school visits. Once we know it is safe we start to bring back on-site programs and events, beginning with activities for very small groups and gradually adding to our offerings.

How has this experience affected your perception of the importance of art and artists?

I had a bit of a crisis during the first week I was working from home. I felt like what I was doing was not important. I think I even cried over it.

How did I get past this? Well, the media started reporting on virtual cultural activities. Artists, musicians, museums, and galleries were helping to keep us distracted and entertained during a difficult time and people loved it! Suddenly, I had a lot of positive feedback about Glanmore’s virtual experiences from the community. People were thanking me for sharing Flattie Hattie. They were looking forward to seeing what we would do next.

This really made a difference and helped me break free from my negative thoughts. Things would have seemed a lot more dismal without these cultural experiences to brighten our period of isolation. I’ll never question this again. Arts and culture workers may not be “essential workers,” but now I know how “vital” we are to society.

glanmore.ca

Flattie Hattie at the Glanmore National Historic Site