Travelling Exhibitions

Canada’s First World War legacy in your community

Engage. Reflect. Remember.

The Canadian Centre for the Great War offers a variety of travelling exhibitions composed of thoughtfully curated displays exploring key themes of the First World War through immersive visuals and powerful storytelling. Each installation is designed to inspire dialogue, reflection, and connection within your community whether in a library, gallery, school, or cultural centre.

Adaptable, bilingual, and easily installed, the exhibitions enable host institutions to present meaningful and accessible cultural programming that connects Canadians to their shared history in dynamic and lasting ways.

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Modular and Portable Storytelling

Our exhibitions are compact, modular displays built to move. They feature high-quality images, and bilingual interpretive panels. Each exhibit is developed by heritage professionals and grounded in historical research, offering meaningful engagement in an accessible format.

Share History in Your Space

Hosting our travelling exhibition lets you activate your space with minimal setup while drawing in new audiences. It's a flexible, cost-effective way to offer high-quality public programming, enrich school visits, or strengthen your commemorative calendar. Perfect for museums, libraries, and schools looking to offer meaningful history.

Turnkey Setup with Big Impact

We ship everything to you, packed and ready. Setup is simple: most displays require only one to two people to install. Exhibitions are available for 4-12 week rentals and can be paired with virtual programming. We provide all the support and materials—you bring the audience.

Flexible & Collaborative

Museum are invited to integrate their own artefacts, display cases, or interpretive materials alongside our content. We encourage you to highlight items of local interest, showcase pieces from your own collection, or tailor the presentation to reflect your institution’s unique story and community.

Explore our selection of travelling exhibitions available for booking.

Each exhibition offers an engaging and educational experience designed to captivate and educate audiences of all ages. Browse the options below to find the best fit for your institution.

Parallels

Women Representing the Great War in Canada and Newfoundland

The Great War provided an unprecedented opportunity for public art in Canada, through official and private commissions such as the Canadian War Memorial Fun, and female artists rose to the challenge of depicting the conflict.

Key figures and themes explored:
  • Mary Riter Hamilton: The Post-War Landscape
  • Frances Norma Loring: "Munitionettes" & War Memorials
  • Elsie Holloway: Photographs of a Lost Generation

After the War

Coming Home and Fitting in at the End of the Great War

After the Armistice in 1918, the journey home for Canadian war veterans was far from over. They now faced returning to their country, their society, and their families after years spent in unimaginable violent and harsh conditions. The challenge of successfully reintegrating, caring for, and supporting these veterans would change Canadian society forever.

Key themes explored:

  • Coming Home
  • Community Organization & Activism
  • Injuries & Disability
  • Government Support
  • The Cost of War

A Better World

Post-War Social Movements and the Canadian Veteran

When demobilized Canadian soldiers poured back into the country in 1919, Canadians celebrated their return with enthusiasm. However, these returning veterans faced a radically different society from the one they had left in 1914. Canada was an indebted country, marred by social crises and lacking the means to keep promises made to its soldiers during the war. In the two decades following the war, veterans would voice their aspirations for a better post-war world—fighting for equality, respect, and peace in Canada.

Key themes explored:

  • Veterans Issues
  • Class Struggle: The Labour Movement
  • Fighting For Recognition: Minority Rights
  • Pacificism and Disillusionment
  • For Better or For Worse: 1940s and 1950s

Shell Shocked

The Long Road to Recovery

At the beginning of the First World War, mental illnesses and nervous conditions were believed to result from an individual's "weak" mind or character, rather than a legitimate reaction to an overwhelming event. The evolution of the conflict and its mechanization and brutalization added a different dimension to the understanding and treatment of what was known among soldiers as "shell schock."
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Logistics

Our travelling exhibitions include five (5) to seven (7) freestanding 4' x 7' panels and one (1) or two (2) artifact display cases, depending on availability and current loans at the time of rental. The exhibitions are self-storing and do not require shipping crates.

Space

Minimum 200 sq.ft.

Transport & Setup

The hosting institution is responsible for transport and set-up to their space.

Partner with Us

Interested in our Travelling Exhibitions?

Write to us to find our more about our traveling exhibitions, like how much they cost and how we ship them to you.

Contact us!

Partner with Us

Interested in our Travelling Exhibitions?

Write to us at info@greatwarcentre.com to find our more about our traveling exhibitions, including pricing and shipping details.

Contact us!