Hello!
Since the exhibit started I’ve noticed there are a number of questions that we get quite frequently, so I thought I’d take the time to answer some of those for you.
1.) What is the CMC?
-The CMC is the Costume Museum of Canada. We are a material history museum with a collection of over 35,000 artifacts that include women’s, men’s and children’s clothing and accessories.
2.) Is the Costume Museum of Canada somehow related to the Dugald Museum?
– Yes, the Costume Museum of Canada and the Dugald collection are one and the same. We are however, no longer located in Dugald.
2.) Do you have a permanent place for people to visit and view displays?
-We currently do not have our own exhibit space, but the collection is stored safely and all together in one spot. When the museum was open in Dugald it didn’t have near enough visitors to keep it going so the decision was made to move to the city of Winnipeg. We have since discovered that we get far more visitors when we do brief single day, or month long pop-up exhibits. The cost of owning or renting a building year round is not worth it when we can simply rent a space for a month at a time and have a lot more people come out to see the exhibits. We do try and have a number of exhibits each year and that number will hopefully continue to grow as we increase in popularity. To find out when those exhibits are, keep an eye on this blog or our facebook page!
3.) How can I get involved with the CMC?
-There are a number of ways to get involved with the CMC, including becoming a member, donating items to the collection, monetary donations, volunteering, and helping promote the museum through social media.
4.) Do you still accept donations of clothing, shoes, hats, jewelery, etc?
-We most certainly do. We cannot guarantee however that each item donated will end up in the collection. Each item donated must be assessed by a committee to determine if it fits the needs of the collection. We can however make sure (if it’s still usable), that it gets donated to an organization that can make use of it. Please contact us at (204) 989-0072 if you have something you’d like to donate.
5.) How can I become a member?
-To become a member of the CMC, you can call (204) 989-0072, email us at costumemuseumcanada@gmail.com or contact us on facebook and someone will get back to you. The current cost is $35 a year, and our members get a newsletter and updates on all upcoming exhibits and volunteer opportunities. We’re currently revamping our Membership and hope to add some exciting new perks in the future along with the ability to use paypal to become a member online.
6.) How do I volunteer?
-Send an email to costumemuseumcanada@gmail.com titled Volunteer and try to include some details about when you might be available and any special interests you might have.
If you have any other questions you’d like to see answered in this FAQ, please email me at the email address above or leave a comment below!
-Brittaya