Year: 2005
Location: Canmore
Profile: Mary-Beth Laviolette was born and raised in Edmonton. Educated in Ontario as a journalist, she worked with CBC Radio for 15 years before being laid off during cutbacks in the early 1980s. Returning to Alberta, she eventually worked for CBC again but also became an author while participating in the arts and museum communities. That interest led her to involvement as a curator with the Canmore Museum which focused on the history of coal mining communities in the area. She later curated exhibitions as well for museums and art galleries in Banff, Edmonton, and Calgary. In her interview she discusses the difficulties faced by communities like Canmore that lack wealthy donors in their efforts to maintain museums and their collections.
Keyword: Alberta’s art history; Canmore Museum; CBC; Coal mining communities: Anthracite, Banking, Georgetown.
Transcript: Download PDF
See also: Coal Mining in Alberta; Women and Work in Alberta