Archives Week in Saskatoon

Only three months late, I thought I would share a bit about Saskatoon's archives week event, an archival "variety show" held at the historic Roxy theatre. This is the third year running we have held an event at the Roxy, and while it has taken some creative thinking on how best to make use of a theatre space (previously our "celebrity reader" events were held at the much more intimate jazz-house), we seem to have hit our stride with a variety show format. The idea grew out of the mixed format we employed last year, in which we showcased a variety of archival films, with a break in the film action for a skit on Canada's flag debate in the middle (Diefenbaker played by yours truly). This year, the evening consisted of a number of readings of materials from archival collections, accompanied by relevant images projected onto the big screen (see below), a showcase of archival footage, and an interactive historical trivia game provided by the Western Development Museum. We also took some time to remember our friend Neil Richards, who had passed suddenly in his home on January 12th. Neil was a long time supporter of the archival community, and had never missed an archives week celebration. He was also one of the earliest collectors of LGBTQ materials in the country, and donated the first collection of this kind in the province to the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan in 1986. The intermission was dedicated to showcasing examples from Neil's collections at the PAS and the University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections, and I had the privilege of reading an excerpt from an interview with him on his thoughts of the importance of archives to the queer community.

Leesha Cowan reading a poem on first female U of S Metis grad Nan McKay. MC Jeff O'Brien stands to the left. 

In terms of results, the variety show event seemed to be a success. The Roxy was packed, and feedback was largely positive. Once again, City of Saskatoon archivist Jeff O'Brien did a fabulous job MCing, and our group of readers (all employed in the field) did beautiful work with their selected readings. I particularly liked the film from City of Saskatoon archives on the 1939 royal visit, which was remarkable for its bright colors. Future things we would like to improve upon include better representation of Indigenous histories through collaboration with those communities, as well as a focus on the history of Saskatoon as a physical (and perhaps political) space.

Always excited for next years event and looking ahead!
- Stevie Horn
University of Saskatchewan Archives and Special Collections

The SCAA would like to hear from you! What did your archives do for archives week? We love to hear about your success stories, and would love to highlight them on Outside the Box. If you have any stories or images you would like to share, e-mail them to Archives adviser Cameron Hart : scaa.advisor@sasktel.net