Vilnis Cultural Design Works was excited to be asked to assist in the development and instruction of a course planned by the President's Office at the University of Guelph. During the three terms of the course, students worked through all phases of the exhibition development process including research, interpretive planning, conceptual and detailed design, production, and installation.

The result? A colourful, engaging exhibition celebrating the University's 50th Anniversary and highlighting its ongoing innovations and contributions around the world.

Interactive zoonoses activity

From 2008 to 2012, the Guelph Civic Museum moved to new quarters in the historic Loretto Covent building in the heart of Guelph, Ontario. As part of this project, Vilnis Cultural Design Works was contracted to provide content research, design, production, and project management for four permanent galleries.

A grade 6 class explores Guelph's history in the highly interactive Royal City Families Gallery.

As part of the redevelopment of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Ontario, Vilnis Cultural Design Works was contracted to research, design and produce a wall-mounted exhibition describing 150 years of history on this site. Breaking Down Barriers: The Story of CAMH consists of 80 linear feet of interpretive panels and artifacts from the CAMH Archives collection. It details the transformation of the site from asylum to an integrated community, physically linking the CAMH complex with the surrounding streets and neighbourhood, in Toronto's downtown core.

Vilnis Cultural Design Works was contracted to provide exhibition design, fabrication and installation for a new visitor orientation centre interpreting an historic stone Martello tower structure in Saint John, New Brunswick. The resulting exhibition brought the War of 1812 to life with a variety of interpretive media, including interpretive panels, two digital interactive stations, a manual interactive station in which visitors explored the physics of stone arch construction, two detailed scale models, two audio stations, life size historical figures, and a full size scale replica of the stone tower wall. The exhibition won third place in the National Association for Interpretation Media Competition.

The bilingual interpretive exhibition, Cobalt Silver Camp: The Cradle of Canadian Mining, tells the dramatic story of Cobalt's early 20th century silver mining period. Vilnis Cultural Design Works conducted archival and collections research, developed an interpretive plan, wrote interpretive text, created graphic and three-dimensional design, and supervised sub-contractors to produce and install the completed exhibition. VCDW also produced a bilingual orientation film to accompany the exhibition.

Chronicling the history of the university, this permanent exhibition at the University of Guelph transformed a hallway into a walk through time with 200 lineal feet of colourful wall murals.

VCDW worked closely with an Aboriginal Advisory Committee in order to provide historic content research, interpretive planning, design and production services to complete this 1000 s.f. exhibition. The result is a highly interactive and naturalistic environment complete with a full-scale teaching lodge, “talking drum” touch screens and life size audio figures representing the Anishisaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Métis, and Inuit nations.

VCDW reviewed published, archival and collections research sources, created a storyline and an interpretive plan, and provided graphic and 3D services to design and install 12 exterior exhibits at the Oil Museum of Canada. The use of interpretive panels, life-size figures of historic oilmen, mechanical interactives, and audio media offers an entertaining, active experience, coupled with in-depth information, to visitors.