DIRECTOR'S NOTE
A CULTURAL AND CIVIC HUB FOR ONTARIO. AND BEYOND.
Since 2018, when we first launched our Strategic Direction, ROM has been in a state of ongoing metamorphosis. Each year, we have become more dynamic and inclusive. Each year, we have become more attuned to our visitors’ needs and the complex currents of a world in constant flux. And while these changes are multifaceted, they have all been rooted in our greater purpose: becoming an increasingly dynamic and welcoming cultural and civic hub for Ontario—and beyond.
Today, thanks to the extensive work at ROM, we are closer to that ideal than ever before.
On King Charles III’s Coronation Day, with the help of the Ontario government, we made the entire Museum free and open to all. Over 17,000 visitors came through our doors, making it one of the most popular days in ROM's history. Not long after, the Free Main Floor pilot program returned for its second summer. More than 211,000 visitors enjoyed performances and programs, while over 22,000 came expressly for the free experience—yet more proof of ROM’s importance as a cultural and civic hub.
While these initiatives allowed us to reach new audiences, our dynamic exhibitions explored important contemporary issues. Noelle Hamlyn: Lifers, a provocative ROM-original art installation of over twenty repurposed and retailored life jackets, probed the environmental impacts of fast fashion. Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery, from the Field Museum in Chicago, drew on contemporary science and cultural traditions to better understand one of humanity’s most primal fears. And Wildlife Photographer of the Year, a perennial visitor favourite from London’s Natural History Museum, returned with an array of stunning photographs, revealing nature at its most beautiful and fragile.
As impressive as this list is, it represents but a fraction of the activity that happened inside the Museum and out in the field over 2023. And, without the ROM community—our staff, volunteers, partners, stakeholders, donors, and visitors—none of it would have been possible.
So, as we look back at a remarkable year, I want to say thank you.
Sincerely,
Josh Basseches
Director & CEO
RESEARCH & COLLECTIONS HIGHLIGHTS
ROM Researchers identified the oldest known species of swimming jellyfish.
A woodblock printed curtain with tropical fruit from ROM’s collection was used as a model for a reproduction to refresh Queen Marie-Antoinette’s boudoir in the Château de Versailles.
Crawford Lake in Milton, Ontario was selected as the “golden spike”, the site that could define the new Anthropocene Epoch. This decision was informed by decades of ROM research, as well as more recent contributions by curators Soren Brothers and Deb Metsger, both of whom are members of Team Crawford, an international group of researchers studying core sediments taken from the bottom of the lake that show evidence of large-scale changes in Earth’s atmosphere since 1950.
ROM made a major contribution to the inaugural exhibition India in Fashion at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, marking the debut of the Museum's collections in India.
Dr. Kim Tait, ROM’s Head of Natural History and Teck Endowed Chair of Mineralogy, made the news for her crucial role in NASA's asteroid-study and sample-return mission, which will help scientists investigate how planets were formed and life began.
ROM acquired the Dr. Cecil Roth Judaica collection—680 objects, from silver Torah ornaments to rare Esther scrolls, which open a window into centuries of Jewish ritual and life.
EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Canadian Modern (December 3, 2022 to July 30, 2023), charted "the emergence of a uniquely Canadian craft and design sensibility shaped by the country’s diverse peoples and its vast, awe-inspiring geography."
T. rex: The Ultimate Predator (March 11, 2023 to September 4, 2023) combined lifelike recreations with genuine fossils in this exhibition about a prehistoric predator that has long loomed large in the public imagination. Presenting Sponsor: Desjardins Group.
TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold (May 20, 2023 to September 24, 2023) showcased the stunning breadth of Inuit musical expression, from drum dancing to throat singing.
Noelle Hamlyn: Lifers (June 3, 2023 to April 1, 2024) featured more than twenty repurposed and retailored life jackets—a striking visual metaphor, which illuminates the current environmental crisis in the textiles and fashion industries.
Being and Belonging: Contemporary Women Artists from the Islamic World and Beyond (July 1, 2023 to January 7, 2024) explored the defining issues of our time from the perspective of 25 women from or connected to the broader Islamic world.
Death: Life's Greatest Mystery (October 28, 2023 to April 7, 2024) wrestles with humanity's most primal fear, asking probing questions about mourning, grief, and spirituality.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023 (November 25, 2023 to May 26, 2024) returned to ROM for its ninth year, featuring an array of gorgeous photographs of the natural world at its most intimate and vulnerable.
EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS
In February, ROM returned Chief Poundmaker’s pipe and saddle bag to his great-great-granddaughter Pauline Poundmaker, Brown Bear Woman. Widely covered in the media, the ceremony was an important milestone in the Museum’s ongoing work towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples living in what is now known as Canada.
500 volunteers, donors, and supporters gathered at the Museum in April for "ROM Celebration," a gala honouring the philanthropists who help make ROM one of the world's great museums.
Each month in 2023, we hosted a uniquely themed ROM After Dark event, many of which sold out. That includes DinoNite, which featured live music and an array of dinosaurs, from real-life fossils to giant inflatables.
CELEBRATING THE LOUISE HAWLEY STONE CHARITABLE TRUST-SUPPORTED CURATORSHIPS
Before her death in 1997, Louise Hawley Stone established a charitable trust of $45 million for ROM—the largest bequest of its kind in the Museum’s history. Today, that gift supports an array of work at ROM, including seven endowed curatorships: the Dan Mishra Curator of South Asian Art & Culture; the Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology; the L.R. Wilson Curatorship of Canadian Art & Culture; the Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change; the Nick Mirkopoulos Curatorship of Ancient Greece and Rome; the Vettoretto Curator of North American Archaeology; and the Hatch Curator of Indigenous Art and Cultures.
Below, three of those curators weigh in on what the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust has meant for their work—and the Museum.
“This fund has been key to making ROM a global leader in bringing climate change into the heart of the Museum. Only two years into this position, we have engaged hundreds of thousands of people about climate change and its solutions through public programs and exhibitions, plus more than a million people via the press and social media. It has also allowed me to curate two exhibitions, Noelle Hamlyn: Lifers and Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2023, into which I have woven crucial climate change research.” — Dr. Soren Brothers, Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change
“This Louise Hawley Stone initiative has succeeded in spades to encourage further philanthropy. It has been transformative for Global South Asia at the ROM in not only securing the curatorial position but enhancing ROM's ability to offer exhibitions and programs in this area.” — Dr. Deepali Dewan, Dan Mishra Curator of South Asian Art & Culture
“As a curator in Natural History, I oversee hundreds of thousands of fossils, interpret them, and present them to diverse audiences through publications, exhibits, programming, and the media. The Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust has helped catalyze legacy donations from visionary philanthropists—like, in my case, the Ivey family—to create endowed curatorial positions, so that the ROM can continue caring for and interpreting our vast and diverse collections in perpetuity.” — Dr. Jean-Bernard Caron, Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Over fiscal 2022/2023, more than one million people around the world saw our travelling exhibitions at other museums—proof of ROM’s incredible global reach.
On King Charles III's Coronation Day we made the entire Museum free, thanks to the support of the Ontario government. A staggering 17,277 visitors came to ROM that day, making it one of the most attended days at the Museum ever.
Summer Club 2023 sold out with more than 1,500 camper spots filled across 78 groups for children ages 5 to 16.
Returning after last summer's pilot program, Free Main Floor, which was made possible by made possible by the generous support of the Temerty Foundation, was an unequivocal success. More than 211,000 visitors enjoyed main floor performances and programs, and 22,828 attended expressly for the free experience.
WonderWorks, our new play-based learning space, opened to the public on July 21. “My son loved it!” wrote Nga Dinh on Instagram. “Well worth the wait.”
THANK YOU
Without our donors, volunteers, staff, and the support of the Government of Ontario, none of this would be possible.
For a full donor list, click here.
Image Credits and Captions: Cover: A photograph of Noelle: Hamlyn's Lifers exhibition (Paul Eekhoff) . Image 1: Saty + Pratha © Royal Ontario Museum, 2022. Image 2: "Woodblock printed curtain with tropical fruit," which which was used by Versailles in recreating the authentic textile design for their restoration project. Image 3: Dilyara Kaipova, Scream Blue, 2020 © Dilyara Kaipova. (Photo by Paul Eekhoff). Image 4: A band entertains the crowd at "ROM Celebration," a gala honouring the philanthropists who help make ROM one of the world's great museums . Image 5: An anomalocaris fossil from ROM's collection. Image 6: A boy has his hands full at WonderWorks' interactive "noodle wall."