Take a Trip: Royal Ontario Museum
It is the ROM’s mission to engage the public in exploration of cultural change and to serve as an advocate for science in the study of nature. Their collections and research serve as the basis for programs ranging from formal student education courses to public debates, lectures, symposia, films, tours, publications, travel and family activities. The museum aims to host and produce programs of intellectual depth and social relevance on both sides of its mandate, including unique ROM exhibitions and works of a collaborative nature. Through the ROM’s Institute for Contemporary Culture, the museum also explores current issues through works of art and programs in many media.
The ROM is near completion of a major capital project (Renaissance ROM) that will see the building of 27 new galleries, the liberation of many stranded collections, the addition of valuable public amenities, and the creation of dramatic new architecture in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, designed by Daniel Libeskind. This is among the largest capital projects in the history of Canadian cultural institutions, and brings the assets of the museum fully to the public again even as the ROM prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2014.
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Recent notable news at the Royal Ontario Musuem:
An Evening With Meryl Streep
Hollywood Icon Discussed Celebrity Life at the ROM on October 7, 2009
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) basked in the glamour of Hollywood on Wednesday, October 7, in an evening with two-time Academy Award® winning actress Meryl Streep. During this special event, titled An Evening with Meryl Streep, sponsored by Infiniti, Ms. Streep engaged in an onstage conversation with Globe and Mail journalist Johanna Schneller. Drawing on her own experiences as a celebrated actress, Ms. Streep discussed aspects of her working life. The evening formed part of The Question of Celebrity, programming surrounding the upcoming exhibition Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008, presented by the Bay, opening at the ROM on Saturday, September 26.
"We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Streep to the ROM. She is a greatly respected artist and a true cultural icon. To hear her insight into the world of acting and to gain an understanding of what it is like to inhabit her sphere will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Museum visitors,” said William Thorsell, ROM Director and CEO.
Ms. Streep is the recipient of a record-breaking 15 Oscar nominations and has starred in highly acclaimed films such as Kramer vs. Kramer, for which she won her first Academy Award®, The Deer Hunter, Out of Africa, A Cry in the Dark, The Bridges of Madison County, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia, Doubt and the recently released Julie & Julia. The proceeds from An Evening with Meryl Streep will benefit the ICC, and the charities Kageno and SafeHands for Mothers.
Johanna Schneller is a freelance journalist specializing in entertainment features and writes the weekly Fame Game column in The Globe and Mail newspaper. She has also hosted TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies for the past two seasons.
