King Tut and the rest of ancient Egypt paid a short visit to Morningside Library last week. On Feb. 18, the library hosted a presentation on the feature exhibit, “King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs”, currently open to the public at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
The hour-long PowerPoint presentation by AGO representative and University of Toronto graduate student Jennette Boehmer showcased many of the artefacts, sculptures and statues that are currently on display.
“I want visitors to learn a little more about the people who are behind those artefacts, so if they see a sculpture of someone, they’ll know a little bit more about the person and the time of which that person lived,” Boehmer said.
The presentation informed the 26 persons of the exhibit’s historical background, and more importantly, about its artefacts which Boehmer said is the main focus and highlight of the exhibit.
“The artefacts come to us and they’re completely isolated,” Boehmer said. “We don’t see them in any context at all, but all those artefacts are an expression from a certain moment in time when people believed certain things and lived in certain ways and places.”
Morningside Library is one of several Toronto Public Libraries that hosted this exclusive presentation. The library was granted the presentation after its request was accepted by the AGO.
“I think it’s really nice and important for the AGO to go out to the greater public and explain what we have learned in a way that’s accessible to people,” Boehmer said. “It opens a window into lives of human beings that were part of a very interesting history.”