Mission

Willowbank’s mission is to explore ways of sustaining places and communities, through the integration of past, present and future.  We see the restoration arts as a key part in understanding the past, connecting it to the present, and then reshaping it for the future.

We are convinced that the 21st Century is going to be a time of reconnecting us with our cultural landscapes – landscapes that live in our  imagination and that give us a sense of place and a sense of identity.  We do not accept many of the assumptions of 20th Century education and conservation.  We believe there has been too much of an obsession with observation rather than experience, with theory rather than practice, with objects in isolation rather than the ecology of interconnectedness.

Willowbank, as a National Historic Site, is committed to exploring all the rich layers that make up our unique history.  This means recognizing the aboriginal layer as a very real and present layer that continues to provide the fundamental identity for our site.  This means accepting both the 19th Century interventions of the Hamilton family as well as the 20th Century interventions of the Bright family as part of our story.  This means celebrating the current educational and interpretive functions as a strong contemporary layer that adds another exciting dimension to the site.  Our mission is to explore ways to celebrate evolution and change while keeping key values from the past.

Willowbank, as a School of Restoration Arts, is committed to exploring new ways of teaching and learning that combines the best of academic and apprenticeship traditions.  Our faculty and students give equal weight to working with the mind and working with the hands.  We believe in learning by doing.  We bring in the very best practitioners from across Canada to provide mentorship and guidance.  We do not shy away from the latest technology, but we insist on starting with simple, tangible, immediate connections with materials and knowledge.  We teach individual skills and then team skills, and we believe that the best work is done when everyone works on a level playing field and there are no hierarchies.

Willowbank, as a Foundation, is committed to involving as many people as possible in the Willowbank community.  As a Foundation, we put on events at Willowbank that draw in different participants – whether for lectures and workshops, for cultural events, or for special research activities.  We work with the Friends of Willowbank to broaden our reach to those in the Niagara area and across North America.  We publish a newsletter to keep our Friends informed of events and to share our research.  We run fundraising campaigns and special events to provide the financial support for Willowbank’s many programs and activities.

The National Historic Site, the School of Restoration Arts, and the Foundation work as integrated parts of a single mission.