covid — Blog — Emily Trace

Interview with Judith John of the Royal Ontario Museum

“Yes, these are really grim days. But when I come into the ROM I am both awed and heartened to realize that civilizations have survived a lot.” In the year of living covidly, the Royal Ontario Museum might be the only Toronto venue cavernous enough to make social distancing relatively simple. Judith John, Vice President of Marketing & Engagement for the ROM Governors, joined me to discuss the powerful role of museums in a year like 2020, how staying relevant is the duty of a museum, and the importance of contextualizing unsavoury parts of history. From meditations on colonialism to meditation classes in the Atrium, Judith shares the significant spectrum of resources that the ROM has to offer an ailing public.

Interview, ProfessionalEmily TraceDecember 4, 2020ROM, royal ontario museum, judith john, interview, covid19, covid, pandemic

Barre Class Under the Starry Night

“I do see more gratitude and excitement than I think I maybe would have seen if it wasn’t a pandemic,” remarks the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit’s barre class fitness instructor Amy Walsh, who offers her participants the unique experience of warming up to Van Gogh’s sunflowers and lying down for a core workout to his famed Starry Night painting. With many Torontonians looking for safe ways to be together and transcend the stagnation of quarantine, Amy has developed an up-to-code experience in partnership with Lighthouse Immersive that offers physical, emotional, and artistic invigoration while also allowing participants some much-needed human connection.

Interview, ProfessionalEmily TraceOctober 14, 2020amy walsh, immersive, van goh exhibit, yoga, barre class, covid