Donate Artifacts
We have placed a moratorium on acquisitions for the City of Edmonton Heritage Collection until September 1, 2024
We have been collecting artifacts for the City of Edmonton Heritage Collection since 1958. The Heritage Collection has over 60,000 artifacts which can be found on exhibit at the John Walter Museum, Fort Edmonton Park, on loan to other museums and collections, and in storage at the City of Edmonton Artifacts Centre.
While our collection has grown, our storage space has not. In these last 65 years, Edmonton has also seen significant growth and change, which isn’t always represented in our artifact collection. What we collect and why we collect continues to change. We need to take some time to assess our current collection, engage with Edmonton communities, and reconsider what we will collect in the future in order to best represent the stories, people, and activities of Edmonton.
In order to do this work, the City of Edmonton Heritage Collection has placed a moratorium on new additions to the collection until September 1, 2024. This means that we will not accept any new acquisitions.
The moratorium allows us to update plans and policies, reassess and improve storage for artifacts in the collection, and to complete the processing of currently acquired artifacts. It will also allow staff more time to digitize the current collection so that we can share it with the public.
If you can hold onto your items, please contact us again after the moratorium period has ended on September 1, 2024, and we will assess if your items are suitable for the collection at that time.
If you cannot hold onto your items, we suggest visiting Alberta Museums Association for a list of Alberta museums by region or name that may be potential options you may wish to offer your items to. If you would like to discuss specific alternatives for donating or disposing of your items please call us at 780-496-1490 and we'll be happy to advise.
We thank you for your patience during this time.