Heritage Heroes: Anne Usher & the Friends of the MUHC

Some of the Friends inventorying artwork at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

The Art & Heritage Centre has been canvassing the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) hospitals, tracking and collecting artwork, medical historical objects, and documents – all in the pursuit of preserving history. In fact, you may have already seen some of this action in your own unit! But what you may not know is that many of its members are volunteers. These individuals have become integral to the Centre, not only helping out with the move to the Glen site, but also standing in as exhibition monitors, tour guides, and ambassadors.

Anne Usher first got involved with the Art & Heritage Centre in 2012 while pursuing a personal quest to find an old iron lung. Since then, Usher has been a dedicated participant and on top of her enthusiastic support, she has helped recruit other members from the Friends of the MUHC to help preserve and promote Montreal’s healthcare history. In total, they have contributed over 550 hours of work, making Usher and the Friends our Heritage Heroes.

“Learning new skills related to art and curation are just a couple of the perks,” Usher said while flipping through a medical catalogue. “It’s also a good way for people to take part in their own history and participate when they have the time. The partnership between the Friends and the Art & Heritage Centre is a good fit for people interested in the past, present and future.” With traditional volunteering becoming more difficult to maintain, the Friends are providing new and innovative opportunities for community-minded people to give back. The Art & Heritage Centre is excited and very grateful for their support and look forward to running fun and dynamic programs with them in the future.

Anyone interested in volunteering with the Art & Heritage Centre, please contact [email protected]

Keep in mind: In preparation for the moves, the Art and Heritage Centre is pre-emptively collecting artwork across our legacy sites that will be moving to the new hospital so that the art pieces can be properly catalogued, cleaned, and put in place at the Glen. Please remember that it is illegal to take home any of the remaining art, photographs, installations or plaques that are not moving to the Glen site - they are property of the MUHC.

Thank you to all of our MUHC volunteers!