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498 artifacts fly as museum clears clutter

The North Vancouver Museum and Archives is throwing out everything including the kitchen sink. The NVMA recently won approval from city council to do away with 498 items, including a sink. Since 2012, the NVMA has unloaded nearly 5,000 artifacts.
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The North Vancouver Museum and Archives is throwing out everything including the kitchen sink.

The NVMA recently won approval from city council to do away with 498 items, including a sink.

Since 2012, the NVMA has unloaded nearly 5,000 artifacts.

In terms of volume, the museum has reduced their collection by 30 per cent, which should allow it to squeeze into their new 3,000 square foot storage facility.

After considering 704 items, the NVMA curator, directors, and archivist decided the archives could go on without an old radio with three dials (two of which are missing) a manual movie projector, a foot locker that won’t close, beeswax, a bar of soap, industrial lubricants, a broken mirror and several artifacts that fall under the description: “unknown purpose.”

The focus is on “generic items that are large and cumbersome, especially those without a strong local connection,” according to a city staff report.

The decision to retain 206 items was partly due to the fact that they helped tell “specific and important stories like immigration to North Vancouver and the history of the Burrard Dry Dock,” according to the report.

Two of the pricier items included a silk dress and a pair of embroidered shoes, each dating back to the 18th century and each valued at potentially more than $1,000.

While they are “delicate and rare,” they have “no connection to North Vancouver,” according to city staff.

Both items are on loan at Vancouver’s Society for the Museum of Original Costume, who are set to take ownership of the items.

Any money raised from selling old items will go towards helping the NVMA maintain their collections and pick up new items.

The NVMA must vacate their current warehouse before the lease expires in May 2019. The museum is slated to move into a new home on the first floor of a condo development at 131 West Esplanade, following city council granting approval in December 2016.

The approximately 16,000-square-foot space has an estimated value of $11 million.

The initial budget for the museum is $5.5 million, with the city providing $2.55 million and the federal government pledging a little more than $3 million.

The archives will remain at its home in Lynn Valley.