Truth Be Bold

Whose truth?

Museums have long asserted themselves as the authority, the experts, the holders of truth. But historically, they have often told half-truths, singular narratives, or misinterpretations entirely. Museums can do better.

The truth is that there is more than one truth. By collecting and sharing multiple, parallel, and divergent perspectives, museums have an opportunity to tell a fuller truth about our shared history. A truth that is not singular but contains multitudes.

Truth Be Bold is a public engagement campaign to highlight the important work of museums as both authority and advocate. Like Collecting Perspectives, we’ve created resources to help you adapt that messaging to your museum and share it with your community. The communications package includes the Truth Be Bold graphics and messaging, as well as sample social media posts. The package provides the tools and resources to make the Truth Be Bold campaign adaptable to your specific site.

This campaign was developed from the data collected during Museums for Me. Here are some data highlights that support and inform Truth Be Bold:

• 80% of respondents agree that museums are a credible source of information
• 95% of respondents think that the museum is a place to learn and be inspired
• 94% of respondents think that museums can address societal issues like climate change, reconciliation, and technological innovation
• 52% of respondents agree that museums need to better represent all Canadians

“When done right, museums can be one of the few places that still hold community trust.”

“Museums taught me about new ways to communicate. They taught me the value of objects as messages from other times or places.”

“Society needs to hear harsh truths and sometimes a museum is the only place they will see and hear that.”

“Present the truth above all else; the full picture, 'warts and all', not just the sunnier side of our history.”

-        Survey Respondents

The Truth Be Bold campaign serves as a call to action for museums, as well as a marketing campaign to encourage the public to think differently about the role of museums, particularly in an age of mistrust and disinformation.

Here are some examples of Truth Be Bold in action.

Sample Posts:

The truth is best told through a diversity of voices. Do you think museums are doing enough to share authority with their communities? Tell us at reconsideringmuseums.ca/truthbebold #TruthBeBold #ReconsideringMuseums

Do you think what we currently know as ‘truth’ can change over time? Historians’ work to investigate the past is a lot like detective work. They gather different accounts of the past as evidence, each offering different perspectives, to get as complete an understanding as possible. When new evidence comes to light, they use it to update our understanding of the past. reconsideringmuseums.ca/truthbebold #TruthBeBold #ReconsideringMuseums 

Museums are encouraged to use the Truth Be Bold communications package to create their own Truth Be Bold social media campaign.