In brief

Brief presentation of the museum

The Musée régional de l’Outaouais (MRO) is the Outaouais’ place of memory, showcasing its rich heritage, reflecting its diversity while celebrating its uniqueness, and instilling a sense of pride in all those who have put down roots in the region over the years.

Why Fairview House

Built around 1862 for Sir Richard William Scott, Fairview House is a bourgeois stone residence. The building was used as a veterinary office and residence from 1919. From 1957 until the 1980s, the estate housed only offices and laboratories. The museum moved in because the house, classified as a historic monument in 1979, is an important witness to the rich heritage of the Outaouais region.

2015-2016

First consultation meeting on a regional museum project, organized by Culture Outaouais, in which it is proposed that the Heritage Network become the project leader for a regional museum.
The Heritage Network's Board of Directors (BOD) accepts this role and forms an initial steering committee for the project.
In 2016, the Réseau du patrimoine gatinois became the Réseau du patrimoine de Gatineau et de l'Outaouais (RPGO) and submitted a brief for the revision of Quebec's cultural policy, proposing the creation of a new regional museum infrastructure in the Outaouais.
Consultation tour and initial meetings: five (5) consultation meetings in Outaouais municipalities/RCMs.
Additional survey of participating organizations.
Publication of the Dossier de présentation sur la situation muséale en Outaouais en vue d'un projet d'infrastructure muséale régionale, in January 2017.
Museum vision not yet defined, but needs clearly identified.

2018: MuséO Forum

85 participants.
Representatives from all corners of the region.
Private and public partners.
Group ideation workshops on fundamental aspects of the project (museum model, community concerns and solutions, vision and mission, etc.).
Publication of the MuséO report in June 2019, confirming the museum's vision and the support of a majority of heritage organizations for the project.

2019-2021

Feasibility study project.
An 8,650 m2 museum (including a 4,900 m2 regional reserve).
Necessary investments estimated at $28,725,000.
Four (4) sites targeted and under study.
Scenarios for the development of a regional reserve, governance and financing.

2020-2022

Inventory of the region's museum and documentary collections, financially supported by the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
Creation of a collective digital database for use by heritage organizations in the region.
Hiring additional staff:
- Project manager for the Regional Museum project;
- Cataloger and archival technician for the inventory project;
- Shared resource in heritage and museology (made possible by the Gouvernement du Québec and Culture Outaouais).

2022

First founding Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Musée régional (January) and creation of a first Board of Directors.
- Creation of internal committees and governance structure.
First production of promotional material (May).
Participation in the Salon du patrimoine in St-André-Avelin (June).
Animation activity during the Journées de la culture 'Vos trésors - Notre histoire' (October).
Participation in discussion groups on Gatineau's new Cultural Policy (November).

2023

Creation of a new brand image (logo).
Drafting of the Museum's vision and mission (February).
Collaboration with Carleton University School of Architecture (winter).
Second Annual General Meeting (March).
Submission of a major request for funding to set up a joint reserve and project office for the permanent museum.
Museum opens at Fairview House (June).
Participation in the organization of an international museology symposium with UQO and UQAM.