Karim Rashid is one of the most famous industrial designers in the world. In this episode of Artifactuality, he explores his early influences, including his family’s journey from Egypt to Europe to Montréal during Expo 67, and his adolescence in the Toronto suburbs.   Rashid is perhaps most famous for designing the iconic Garbo wastepaper basket for Umbra. The sleek, curved and utilitarian design is emblematic of his aesthetic, which often involves bright moldable materials such as plastic. During his career, Rashid has designed everything from vacuum cleaners and sofas, to lamps and ..read more

Between 1975 and 1985, 100,000 refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam arrived in Canada, making it the largest refugee resettlement in Canada since the Second World War. In this episode of Artifactuality, we take a look at the stories of two individuals: Stephanie Stobbe, lead curator and researcher for the Hearts of Freedom project, and Kim Thúy, host of the show, reading from her autobiographical novel, Ru.    LINKS Transcript https://historymuseum.ca/podcast/transcripts/#4   Hearts of Freedom website  https://heartsoffreedom.org/    Kim Thúy’s website  h ..read more

This special episode of Artifactuality features conversations with Blackfoot Elders about the decolonization of archaeology and how the Blackfoot think about history, time and territory. It starts with a tour of the area around Wally's Beach in southwestern Alberta — home to the Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Moving to Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Canadian Museum of History’s Curator of Western Archaeology, Gabriel Yanicki, listens to Blackfoot stories. The stories reflect peoples who have always inhabited this area, as evid ..read more

This episode of Artifactuality features an interview with Elizabeth Cooke-Sumbu, granddaughter of the legendary Frank Cooke, who played in the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes. Elizabeth talks about Frank’s legacy, the racial barriers Black hockey players overcame in the past — and must still overcome today — as well as why more needs to be done to tear down barriers, so that anyone who wants to play, can play. The episode also includes an interview with Percy Paris, an eighth-generation African Nova Scotian who was part of the first all-Black line in Canadian university hockey in the 19 ..read more

Singer, actor, producer, radio host, TV personality, entrepreneur; it seems as though there’s nothing Mitsou can’t do. But before she conquered the world with her global hit, Bye bye mon cowboy, she was a talented Montréal teenager with an iconic style pulled together from her own closet and brought to the world stage.  Mitsou talks about her early days in Montréal, the people who helped and inspired her along the way, and how Hollywood disappointment turned into an amazing reinvention.    LINKS Transcript https://historymuseum.ca/podcast/transcripts/#1    Canadian Mus ..read more

Imagine a museum of the future, made up entirely of the stories we tell each other. Which stories would resonate with you? Which ones will last? And which will go on to shape how we live our lives, now and in the future?  Introducing Artifactuality, a podcast series featuring remarkable stories generously shared with the Canadian Museum of History. Hosted by acclaimed novelist Kim Thuy, each episode is an audio time capsule of a part of Canadian history told in the voices of the people who lived it.   The series is produced by Antica Productions and Makwa Creative. French v ..read more