The new acting chief executive of the Royal British Columbia Museum says the work to modernize and redesign displays, repatriate artifacts to First Nations and engage with the public to bring a clear picture of the province’s diverse cultural history will continue under her watch.
Tracey Drake, who has been the museum’s vice-president of strategic operations and worked closely with departing CEO Alicia Dubois, is taking on the acting CEO role on Aug. 2. A search for a permanent replacement is underway.
Dubois resigned the post in June, 16 months after taking the job, citing professional and personal reasons.
She had come under intense criticism last year in the wake of closure of some of the museum’s most popular exhibits on the third floor, including Old Town. The exhibits were closed as part of efforts to “decolonize” the museum and include more voices from B.C.’s history.
“I’m excited for the future of our museum,” Drake said in an interview Thursday. “I want to continue to work with First Nations and to hear the many voices in the province about the museum to make it truly representative of B.C.”
Drake said public-engagement sessions to hear those voices will resume in various parts of the province in the fall.
The new acting CEO has been part of the executive team overseeing the re-imagining of Old Town. It now comes with the tagline Old Town: New Approach and is set to open to the public July 29 after being closed for 19 months.
Visitors can expect a slimmed-down version of the popular exhibit, as several parts of Old Town have been removed over the past year.
The canning, mining and farm displays are now behind walls and used for storing the packing crates of the latest exhibits — SUE: The T-Rex and Angkor: The Lost Empire of Cambodia — as well as preparing artifacts for the move to the new collections building in Colwood, expected to be complete in 2026.
Captain Vancouver’s ship will be off limits at least until next year while a new narrative and displays are added.
The train station and Chinatown displays will remain, as will several aspects of the colonial street, where the scent of baking apple pie will still waft from the 1800s-era kitchen — though narratives will show that family dinners in British Columbia are as varied as its citizens, said Drake.
The movie theatre will screen scenes from the province’s vast landscapes and people rather than Charlie Chaplin films, she said.
Drake said the First People Gallery will remain closed as work continues with First Nations on displays and narratives, as well as the museum-mandated work of returning some artifacts.
She said the museum and provincial archives policy is for continuous dialogue and collaboration with Indigenous communities on the collections it holds and the programs delivered, including the repatriation and co-operative management of Indigenous collections, ancestral remains and burial belongings.
Leslie Brown, chair of the museum board, said the board has started a search for a permanent CEO, but did not indicate a timeline for hiring.
She said Drake will oversee museum operations, archives and the Imax theatre as well as the work underway with community engagement and the new collections building in Colwood.
A groundbreaking for the $270-million building in Colwood’s Royal Bay neighbourhood is tentatively planned for the fall.
“She is immensely passionate about the importance of the museum in truly representing diverse communities across B.C. and will steward the modernization of the museum,” Brown said in a statement.
“The Royal B.C. Museum is a busy place and we need stability over the next while as we work on key initiatives.
“With Tracey’s passion for the museum, her intimate knowledge of the work and her collaborative leadership style, she is the perfect choice.”
Prior to joining the museum, Drake had a two-decade-long career in executive roles, including with the Fairmont and Four Seasons hotels and her own strategic management consulting firm working with organizations in the tourism, lifestyle, cultural and non-profit sectors.
An Ottawa native and mother of four grown children, Drake has lived in Victoria for 15 years.
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