HRM - Social Heritage

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Cultural Spaces & Places

Social Heritage Strategy

Interactive
Public Programming

Collections, Facilities,
and Museums

Heritage Properties

Municipal Archives

Related Links

Social heritage refers to the history and cultural identities of people in a particular region. It includes physical elements such as monuments, documents, and artefacts. It also includes oral traditions, customs, folklore, languages, music, dance, celebrations, and special skills.

The principal aims of existing social heritage programs and services include:

facilitating interactive public programming; and
management of cultural artefact collections and heritage facilities.

HRM is now looking for your ideas and input to develop a Social Heritage Strategy for our region, which will shape future policies and programs.

For more information about social heritage and the Strategy contact:
Bill Plaskett
Heritage Planner
plaskeb[at]halifax.ca
tel: (902) 490-4663
fax: (902) 490-3976

social heritage banner

Social Heritage Strategy

HRM has recently begun to direct much attention to its social heritage programs. The Social Heritage Strategy will address the current issues facing social heritage and serve to provide direction for developing future social heritage programs.

The Strategy will describe HRM’s purpose and role in delivering programs that reflect community feedback and align with heritage programs offered by other organziations.

For more information on the development of the Strategy, refer to the Questions & Answers fact sheet, below.

SHSQuestionsAnswers (PDF)

Interactive Public Programming

HRM seeks to increase public appreciation of the region’s rich history and heritage assets through innovative commemoration, interpretation, and education projects. Please contact us if you have an idea for a project that will build public awareness, understanding, and, ultimately, appreciation of heritage.

Community Grants Program - Community History
Apply for a community grant to support a community history project.

Please visit the Community Grants Program web page and review the Community History category in the Grants Guide Book, available for download.

Contact Peter Greechan, Grants & Contributions, with questions at 490-7310 or greechp[at]halifax.ca.

Commemorative Name Program
Name a street or park after an aspect of our heritage.

As development continues in the municipality, there are opportunities to name new streets, parks, sports fields, and buildings. Visit the Commemorative Name Program web page to include a notable person, group, historic event, geographic feature, native flora, or fauna on a list of future place names.

Contact Gayle MacLean, Civic Address Coordinator, with questions at 490-5347 or civicadd[at]halifax.ca.

Collections, Facilities, and Museums

Collections
HRM owns one cultural artefact collection and many other heritage assets. The collection features approximately 42,000 artefacts. The collection focuses on the geographic area of Dartmouth. Therefore, it is a community collection rather than a regional collection. In 2005, HRM entered into a collection management agreement with the Dartmouth Heritage Museum Society to manage this collection on behalf of HRM.

HRM also owns several hundred heritage assets including artefacts, artwork, plaques and gifts. This grouping of objects has not been collected through an official process with an accession policy and curator. The grouping includes assets acquired by HRM Fire & Emergency Services, the Halifax Regional Police, City Hall, and HRM staff.

Facilities and Museums
HRM does not currently operate a municipal museum. However, HRM owns four Municipal Heritage Properties from which museums are operated by local groups through management agreements.

Three museums operate out of four heritage facilities:

Evergreen House in Dartmouth
(Dartmouth Heritage Museum Society)

MacPhee House in Sheet Harbour

Scott Manor House in Bedford
(Fort Sackville Foundation)

Quaker House in Dartmouth
(Dartmouth Heritage Museum Society)