Community Partners:
Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives, Gibsons, BC (formerly the Elphinstone Pioneer Museum)

Web Site:
http://www.gibsonslibrary.bc.ca

Project Directors:
William Gregg, Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives
Email: epm@dccnet.com
Dr. Ariane Isler-de Jongh, Department of History in Art, University of Victoria

Student Researchers:
HRDC Summer Career Placement: Becky Leung and Jocelyn Statia, Visual Arts
Directed Studies: Jocelyn Statia, Visual Arts

Collaborators:
Bee Jackson, Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives
Dr. Lynne Marks, Department of History, University of Victoria

The Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives houses an extensive collection of photographs by Helen McCall, a professional photographer who documented the rural life of British Columbia's Sunshine Coast during the 1920s and 1930s. McCall's involvement with the life and people of the area, coupled with her need and determination to become financially independent, led to her career in photography. The CURA project is examining the artistic, social and historical context of McCall's life and work through research on the photograph collection, other selected documents and oral histories.

During the summer of 2001, UVic student Jocelyn Statia worked at the Museum with staff and volunteers to begin research on the McCall collection of negatives, prints and photo postcards and to collect oral histories. Interviews conducted with local residents, summer campers and family members not only provided information about the photographer herself, but elicited personal stories which gave insight into life during the 20s, 30s and 40s on the Sunshine Coast. Additional sources were identified and researched, including documents in museum and local archives, community directories, newspapers, and correspondence. Work began on digitizing the collection with some examples placed on the Museum website along with information on McCall herself.

In August 2001, a small exhibition of photographs was mounted at the Museum as a way to introduce the community to this project. Jocelyn developed a slide presentation entitled "Back to School: 1930-1941" using the class photos on postcards from the McCall Collection.

Work on this project will continue until the fall of 2003. The outcomes will include a digital catalogue of the collection, a web exhibit, a publication documenting the research and an educational package for high school curricula.

The research publication is currently under development. An introduction to Helen McCall and her work is available online.

Student Jocelyn Statia and her McCall photo exhibit, Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives.
Helen McCall photos on display.