Royal Ontario Museum Announces Allan and Helaine Shiff Curatorship as Part of Broader Institutional Commitment to Address Global Climate Crisis

TORONTO, September 28, 2020 – The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) today announced the establishment of the inaugural Allan and Helaine Shiff Curatorship of Climate Change. This critical and timely role, the first of its kind at a major Canadian museum, reflects the ROM’s commitment to ground-breaking research and innovative public engagement on one of the most relevant topics of our day.

“At the heart of our strategic plan is the ROM’s commitment to engage with the pressing ideas and issues that define our times,” says Josh Basseches, Director & CEO, ROM. “Whether it is the climate crisis and its impact on humanity and the natural world, loss of biodiversity and habitats, or the cultural impacts of forced human migration, the ROM has a growing role to play in deepening our understanding of the science and providing evidence-based insights to our many audiences. I am tremendously grateful to the Shiff family for their generous gift that supports the ROM’s ability to bring critical insight to our audiences on how human activity is causing our current climate crisis. And equally important, this endowment will inspire people to help create a more sustainable world for future generations.” 

This new curatorship is made possible through a visionary donation by long-time ROM members Allan and Helaine Shiff. A global search for the inaugural Shiff Curator, who will research and infuse the urgency of our climate emergency across the ROM’s lifelong learning activities, collections, exhibitions, and community outreach, is currently under way.

“We are confident the ROM is the only institution in Canada with its unique mandate and reach to create an inclusive platform for people to learn, exchange ideas, and tackle the greatest issue of our day,” says Allan Shiff. “Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. We can’t sit idly by when we have the opportunity to shape our collective future. I believe in the power of bringing together a new movement of engaged citizens and researchers who will be a catalyst for change.”

Canada’s leading museum in attendance and reach, the ROM is renowned globally as a scientific and research institute and is uniquely positioned to provide a platform to engage diverse communities on the critical issue of climate crisis and prevention. 

As a transdisciplinary museum spanning art, culture, and nature, the ROM has distinguished itself internationally for its high-calibre and noteworthy exhibitions that encourage important public discourse. Examples such as perennial favourite Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and ROM-originals Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story (2017), The Cloth that Changed the World: India’s Painted and Printed Cottons (2020), and the upcoming Into the Deep: A Tale of Three Whales (opening 2021) continue to highlight our world’s immediate challenge through the eyes of scientists, artists, and cultural informers.  

With this bold vision and commitment to biodiversity, conservation biology, and climate change, the ROM is set to play an even more vital role engaging the public on global heating and environmental protection while fostering action towards a more sustainable future.

The Allan and Helaine Shiff Curatorship of Climate Change is one of 35 curatorships at the ROM and one of five endowed curatorships to receive matching funds by the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust.

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ABOUT THE ROM
Opened in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum showcases art, culture and nature from around the world and across the ages. Among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum is home to a world-class collection of 13 million art objects and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new and original findings, the ROM plays a vital role in advancing our understanding of the artistic, cultural and natural world. Combining its original heritage architecture with the contemporary Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, the ROM serves as a national landmark, and a dynamic cultural destination in the heart of Toronto for all to enjoy.