Daryl Betenia, Glenbow’s outgoing Director of Collections & Curatorial, has led an incredible career at Glenbow. For over 42 years, she has curated, expanded, and stewarded Glenbow’s collections. Later this month, Daryl will retire – but first, we caught up with her to get her thoughts on a few things.
Daryl, what started your career at Glenbow?
Although my original plan when coming to Calgary and going to the University of Calgary was to obtain a business degree, I’ve always had a fascination with history. That was, and has remained, my true love. History matters – it explains how we got here and where we might be going. Partway through my second year of university, I decided in the middle of a class taught by Dr. Sheldon Silverman on the history of popular culture in the United States that I was going to pursue that love. I feel as though I should mention Dr. Silverman as I never told him what an impact he had on my life. History meant that when I started to job hunt, Glenbow was one of the first places I applied. I was very lucky: on the day I dropped off my resume, they were looking for someone to do data entry. I was in. Part-time at first, then as a summer job, part-time again, then on term, and eventually full-time in registration, which led to my interest in collections management.
What have been some of your highlights?
Random visitor interactions, like walking to a meeting at Fort Calgary [now The Confluence] and meeting Tony Bennett (yes, that Tony Bennett) on 9th Avenue. He stopped me to ask directions to Glenbow. Generally, my favourite interactions have been through the tours I’ve given of various exhibitions. I have loved the questions and conversations that have come up, and the realization that no matter how much work and thought goes into an exhibition, visitors will look at it with a different eye and sometimes surprise you. It’s also very gratifying when you realize you have touched someone in some way, and they have connected with the exhibition or a particular object in a personal and meaningful way.
If I had to pick particular tours that have stayed in my mind, they would be a set I did in conjunction with The Shoe Project, which was started in 2011 by Canadian author Katherine Govier. The goal was/is to improve the communication skills of immigrant and refugee women through shoes: talking about shoes and telling stories about shoes. Everyone has shoes and a shoe story. You can learn more about it on their website.
In response to a request from the Calgary Shoe Project, I gave several tours of Glenbow’s shoe collection to groups of extraordinary women who came to Canada from all over the world, often under traumatic circumstances. I loved showing them our incredibly diverse shoe collection and telling them the stories of those shoes. They seemed to love seeing them, hearing about them, and sharing parts of their stories, and we had great conversations along the way. I’ve also had great conversations through the years with donors.
Do you have favourite exhibitions or events?
Favourite exhibitions: The Baroque World of Fernando Botero (2010); Christian Dior (2019); Made in Calgary (2013-15); Warriors: A Global Journey Through Five Centuries (1994 – 2020), because it’s the first exhibition I ever project managed; Real Life: Ron Mueck and Guy Ben-Ner (2009); and Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party (1982-83).
Events: Schmancy [Glenbow’s former annual fundraising event].
Why do you think museums are important?
I think museums help tell us who we are, how we got to this place in time, and where we might go in the future. They can be showcases for all facets of human creativity and a venue for learning about and discussing difficult topics. I think “things” make history more real. One of my favourite podcasts is The Rabbit Hole Detectives. Their tagline is that they do “the origin story of stuff,” in their case, “both real and metaphorical.” I think that’s what a museum does as well: it offers the opportunity to learn the origin story of “stuff” that is important to understanding who we are. I believe very passionately that history is important, and we cannot know ourselves or change our direction without knowing how we got here. As time flows on, the nature of the conversation changes, but it’s always important to have it. I also passionately believe that art is important. It reflects who we are, who we have been, and the time we are living in.
Why do you think more people should explore careers with museums?
I think what we do is very important and the people who work in museums are of a particular type. People who work in museums have chosen to do so – they’re not following a corporate career. People in museums care very much about what they do. I’ve described them in other contexts as very cool nerds and fantastic colleagues. If you have a passion for art, history, creativity, or understanding the world around you, a museum is a terrific place to be. You’ll be working with people who share your passion, and it’s an opportunity to share that passion with people through objects and stories: stories we tell, and stories we listen to. It can be challenging but it’s worth it.
What are you most looking forward to in your retirement?
Reading the very large stack of unread books sitting on my coffee table and in a pile in my spare room. Hopefully meeting some friends in the UK in the spring and just hanging out.
What will you miss most about working at Glenbow?
The people. And not being able to zot down to one of the collections floors just to look at what’s there: incredible art, objects, and belongings that carry history forward, and for me carry the essence of the people who created them and/or used them.
Want more? Also on our blog, Daryl shares some of her favourite items from Glenbow’s collections.
