History student earns internship with professionalism

Christina Williamson was the perfect candidate to receive the first Friends of the University of Alberta Museums 25th anniversary Internship on Museum Innovation.
Williamson was chosen because she was “really stellar” and it was evident that she would continue to be involved for years, said Dr. Anne Bissonnette.

Bissonnette is co-curator with Williamson of the exhibit, In Mother’s Hood: Inuit Packing Dolls of Taloyoak, which pays tribute to the tough resourcefulness of Canada’s northern women, and to the folklore that helped fashion the dolls. The exhibit highlights the longstanding tradition of self-sufficiency, as in 1974, the women of now-Nunavut’s tiny hamlet of Taloyoak formed a craft co-op and began using their sewing skills to make collector dolls to earn money for their families.

“(Williamson) was like a sponge and so full of energy as well. I decided she would not be my assistant but my co-curator,” said Bissonnette. “She researched some primary sources and read some secondary sources and I found her to be very good at sharing the duties and responsibilities of the exhibit.”

Williamson had also expressed an interest in doing future work in her master degree and was diligent regarding the kind of accuracy in another culture’s history. Currently Williamson is in Cortona, Italy, doing archaeology as part of her undergraduate degree in history studies
The exhibit, which runs until August 2011, also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the U of A.

The internship is the result of money fundraised by the Friends of the University of Alberta Museums.

The Friends was founded to assist in fundraising and liaison and is a not-for-profit society dedicated to raising awareness of the U of A’s museums and providing community access to the collections. The group also sponsors a wide range of programs, provides volunteer support, and publishes an award-winning newsletter.
“Even very young children can get something out of this exhibit,” said Bissonnette.

Williamosn’s work can be viewed on the first floor of the Human Ecology building, at at 87th Avenue and 116th Street. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and noon to 4 p.m. on weekends. Admission is free.

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