July 24, is International Self-Care Day, and McDougall Cottage Historic Site is excited to officially open its newly developed exhibition, Resiliency: Shared Stories of Strength & Survival from 11 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Developed in partnership with members of the Waterloo Region community and the Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington (CMHA WW), the exhibition is a multimedia journey of shared personal stories of resiliency and offers resources and strategies to help the community bounce back from life’s challenges.
“The idea for this exhibit has been brewing in the back of my mind for a couple of years. I reached out the Canadian Mental Health Association and I explained what I wanted to do. They suggested resiliency and I thought what a fantastic idea,” said Michelle Bartlett, head of Content and Experience at McDougall Cottage Historic Site.
“We want to have a variety of resources that speak to a variety of people including Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ communities so that they have something that speaks specifically to them.”
Resiliency also represents the next step in McDougall Cottage’s future direction; to explore and embrace new and innovative ways to tell stories.
"We have been wanting to expand the stories and explore topics that are relevant to our society now. And certainly, multi-media plays into that,” Bartlett said.
Exhibits at McDougall Cottage normally run for about one year.
“Because of all of the work that went into Resiliency, and the programming that is included, we will run it until the end of 2023,” Bartlett said.
McDougall Cottage is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission entrance is by donation.
For more information, visit here.
