New Exhibit to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Halifax Explosion

A new exhibit will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion and reflect on what the disaster meant for those involved in it and for the world today.

Collision in the Narrows: The 1917 Halifax Harbour Explosion, hosted at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, will feature images and artifacts from provincial and national collections.

“We're so fortunate to have historians who are able to show the world today how this tragic event impacted so many lives in 1917,” said Roger Marsters, curator of marine history, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. “With this exhibit, we try to look at why it happened and how it connected to broader historical shifts, locally and across the globe.”

Award-winning textile artist and author, Laurie Swim, will also unveil a monumental, community art project, Hope and Survival: The Halifax Explosion Memorial Quilt. The quilt took four years to complete and features images in fabric that tell the story of the explosion through witness accounts of the event and its aftermath.

"This project involved hundreds of volunteers in beading the Braille for The Scroll of Remembrance that accompanies the centrepiece I created over the past four years,” said Ms. Swim. “Hope and Survival is a memorial to those lost in the Halifax Explosion and a gift to the people of Nova Scotia.”

Collision in the Narrows: The 1917 Halifax Harbour Explosion will open on Thursday, June 15. For more information, visit maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca .