December 4, 2010

The mental space for subconscious cogitation has become full – as the King James version said: “in the fullness of time”. I am laden with concepts for the ROM exhibit and ready to give birth.

My exhibit room is roughly 20 feet by 24 with a long, flat display panel in the middle of the room from which can be hung paintings or video screens. The walls are white, the ceiling perhaps 20 feet high or more and abundant track lighting is hung, making the room bright and very suitable as an art gallery.

They told me that the room was essentially a thoroughfare for visitors and staff moving from the Rotunda or elevators to the dinosaur exhibit. When they showed me the room I observed this flow – everything from “guests” to garbage disposal units. The challenge is to entice visitors to step out of the flow and spend some time – maybe time that they had allocated for other exhibits – dipping into and dallying with Inclusion.

Other limitations – not necessarily BARRIERS – are that:
- floor space to move around in, after the “stuff” is placed, is not ample
- there is no apparent expectation that the exhibit will cater to children, those who lie down or those with unusual sensitivities or interests in light or sound
- sharing the experience of play or interaction in general is NOT encouraged.

In addition I have many long term partners and relationships that I want to share this with: Laser Eagles, the Marsha Forest Centre, the Book of Judith, Wisdom, Atkinson and WPIT. It is my chance to shine BUT I am all about community, relationships, collaboration and partnerships and it can’t be only about ME.

There is clearly a process to follow and I am not privy to anything but the bare bones of it. For example I have no knowledge of what the budget might look like or what part I might play in it. I don’t know who gets pissed off about what.

Finally it remains unclear why I am about to do this. From the ROM’s perspective this is a grand opportunity to have at least one Board member participate deeply in the inner workings of the museum while at the same time spending a dedicated budget on a project that can meet the accessibility mandate AND be a quality piece of work. This show also opens a door for several of their potential partners – the AGO being one as well as other groups and facilities in the province.

What do I want out of this, and of that list, what are the deal breakers?

I want people to be exposed to and potentially fall in love with the understanding that Inclusion is a multi-dimensional approach to building a vibrant society where social and economic benefits accrue from garnering the gifts of diversity.

I would like to make $60,000 in 2011 and have a 4 week vacation with the pelicans. As part of this I would LOVE to lose ODSP.

I would like a book to get written, published, to sell well and to launch my ideas through related videos and other media.

I would like to get a proper teaching venu out of this where I have real control over the teacher, student, content dynamic.

I would like the various partners to get to understand me, each other and Inclusion, and to have mutually satisfactory results.

I would like to enjoy it all.