Shape of Our Memories at Mackin House

Recently, the Coquitlam Heritage Society (CHS) put together an exhibit entitled Shape of our Memories at Mackin House. The exhibit partnered local artists with the Society's collection of artifacts to create new pieces of art. It explored how individual objects help us remember, and how they shape our memories. And for this exhibit, how they can inspire new art.

The exhibit featured works from visual artists: Carl Baird, Faria Firoz, James Groening, Karl Hipol and performing artist, Kelsi James.

Kelsi James and Jill Goranson combined their talents to perform a number of songs which Kelsi James composed after being inspired by going through the museum's archive of historical photographs. As self-described queer artists, their presentation gives their modern day perspective on a time and place when LBGTQ+2 rights were not much of a going concern.

"I'm queer and there have always been queer people but not everybody gets to be out and not everybody gets to live as I live now... I was thinking of us as [the people in the historical photos] back then and what it would mean to only be our true selves when we're out with each other in this nature space and then having to pack back up," said James.

Parts of our larger community still struggle with the acceptance of the LBGTQ+2 community. Vandalism of rainbow crosswalks occurred in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam almost as soon as they were painted. A small but vocal group of protesters have turned up at the Coquitlam Library's Drag Queen reading program on more than one occasion. Just a few examples from this year.

The CHS exhibit connects our community's past memories with our current situation to produce new works of art that connect past with present and pave the way for our future

CHS started its operations around June, 1993 in the lower level (basement) of Mackin House. Its initial objectives were to restore Mackin House and turn it into a heritage house museum. The renovations were completed in 1999 when CHS opened Mackin House Museum to the public.

Today, CHS offers numerous services to Coquitlam’s residents. In addition to yearly exhibits in Mackin House, they offer seasonal tours of the Fraser Mills Train Station and CP Rail 1970’s Caboose in Heritage Square. They also operate year-round as a Tourism Information centre for the City of Coquitlam.