Refugee Canada Tent Exhibit at The King's University

Refuge Canada Tent is a small, bilingual exhibit created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 to travel to libraries and community centres across Canada. The exhibit was designed to resemble a tent and is the same size as a typical shelter used in refugee camps today.

Refuge Canada Tent introduces people to Canada’s place in the global refugee crises. It does this in two ways: First, by helping people understand the experience of refugees and the challenges they face. Second, by investigating Canada’s historical track-record of responding to refugees, which is more mixed than people may realize.

This exhibit was adapted from the larger exhibition, Refuge Canada, which is currently travelling to museums across Canada. You can find information on the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21’s website about their travelling exhibitions program.

The refugee experience is important to explore as a part of Canada’s immigration history, and to show that Canada has had a mixed record in welcoming refugees. Refuge Canada Tent looks at injustices and challenges as well as the stories of success and contributions made by people who came to Canada as refugees.

The Museum research team did a series of in-depth, scholarly research reports on the history of refugees and presented them to the curatorial team. The curatorial team used the reports to choose how the information would be presented in the exhibit.

The exhibit was created for a general audience, and does contain sensitive content in stories or images that may evoke emotions. It will also prompt questions and lead to important discussions and education. Information is presented in an interactive way that will engage young people, however this kind of emotional experience might not be for everyone, so the decision to bring children through the exhibit is up to the individual parents or guardians who know their children best.