Glenbow Museum
Glenbow Museum, located at 130 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0P3, Canada, is a great place to visit if you really want to learn more about the important history of Western Canada. History is very important to know, and even if you aren’t from a certain region or place, learning about local history can give you a broader perspective of the world. Thanks to the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta, we can learn about anything and everything that there is to learn about Western Canadian history. Let’s take a look at the history of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, what Glenbow Museum has to offer to you when you come to visit it, when you can visit, what other visitors just like you thought about Glenbow Museum, and anything else that you should know about the great Calgary institution.
The Glenbow Museum can trace it’s origins back to 1955, when Eric Lafferty Harvie founded the Glenbow Foundation. Harvie had been active in the oil industry in the 1920’s through the 1930’s, and quickly amassed a fortune. Harvie’s desire was to educate and raise awareness about the rich history of Western Canada, while at the same time building up a collection of artifacts. These artifacts were often considered junk by the donors, but in the grander scheme were valuable artifacts that told the story of Western Canada. Harvie was also a patron of the arts, and used his fortune to commission artwork from artists that he liked, helping to establish a large art collection for Glenbow Museum.
Today, Glenbow Museum has a lot to offer when you stop by to visit. In total, there are 33,000 pieces of art on display. The art collection host a wide array of art work, with two thirds of the collection being sourced from Canadian artists, and the other third being comprised of art from international artists. Glenbow also has one of, if not the largest, collections of Native art and artifacts in Canada. Glenbow Museum also hosts a vast research archive and library that allows researchers of Canadian history and culture access to one of the biggest libraries in Canada.
If you want to visit the Glenbow Museum, it’s advised that you check to see if the museum is open. Glenbow Museum in Calgary, AB frequently renovates the museum and changes out their exhibits on a regular basis. Because of this, they are often closed for visitation. Thanks to a donation from the Shaw Family Foundation, admission to the Museum is completely free. However, you are still required to reserve an admission ticket in advance, and to arrive within 30 minutes of your scheduled visit.
Reviews for Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta were overall very positive. The staff was praised for it’s helpfulness and knowledge of the artifacts on exhibit. There were some complaints from visitors who accidentally planed a trip during a renovation period where a few floors of the Museum were closed. Hence, it’s important that you make sure the entirety of the Museum is open before you plan your next trip to Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta.
