Donations to the Collection

The Museum builds its collection by the donation of stories, oral histories, and other materials from public and private sources. 

Please make an appointment with Collections staff if you wish to discuss a donation offer in-person at the Museum. Physical material must remain with the donor until the review process is complete. Please confirm with Collections staff before sending offered material to the Museum.

Contact Collections

collections@pier21.ca
902-425-7770 ext. 265

or by regular mail at:

Attn: Collections Department
201-1099 Marginal Road, 
Halifax NS B3H 4P7

When you contact the Collections team to offer material for donation, you will get a form to fill out. This form gathers details about the material, and how it relates to your immigration story. Once the necessary information has been received, your offer will be shared with the Museum's Collection Committee. They decide what is accepted based on our mandate, history, condition, and representation already in the collection. You will be informed of the results once the Committee has made their decision.

The Museum may acquire items based on the following general criteria:

  • The item is relevant to the Museum’s mandate and collecting mandate.
  • The item connects to acquisition priorities as stated in the Collection Development Plan.
  • The item expands upon themes related to immigration history in Canada. The item contributes to understanding the diversity of experiences related to immigration.
  • The item is of significant historical value.
  • The item is in good and stable condition.
  • The Museum can support the documentation, care, preservation, and storage of the item.
  • The item has clear ownership and provenance. The Museum will only accept physical material if ownership can be transferred. The Museum will only accept digital material if it can get a Licence Agreement for unlimited use.
  • If the item is digital, it will be acquired in full authenticity and completeness. An example of this would be scans of the front and back of a printed photo, or a pamphlet scanned from cover to cover.

The Museum may collect stories that meet the following criteria:

  • The story meets the Museum’s mandate: “explore the theme of immigration to Canada in order to enhance public understanding of the experiences of immigrants as they arrived in Canada, of the vital role immigration has played in the building of Canada and of the contributions of immigrants to Canada’s culture, economy, and way of life.” (Museums Act)
  • The story focuses on first-person experiences or spans intergenerational memory (80–100 years). If it is not your direct experience, the story will be based on what was told to you by your parents, grandparents, or other relatives.
  • Stories that offer a significant addition to our knowledge of historic Pier 21 OR stories that add to our knowledge of Canadian immigration.
  • Place or country of origin and date/year of arrival is shared (known or estimated).
  • Stories must be a minimum of one paragraph.
  • Stories must not use discriminatory language.
  • Story content cannot be plagiarized.
  • The story has not been previously published professionally or academically (articles, book chapters, etc.). Anything that has been published for profit will not be considered. Self-published stories for personal or family use may be considered.
  • Submitted stories cannot have been previously accepted by another museum, archive or other institution.
  • If submitting a story in a Word or PDF document with embedded images:
    • All images in a digital document must belong to you, or you must have permission from family or friends to use them.
    • Embedded images must have a caption with written context, or that context must be in the story.
    • The following items must not be used and cannot be considered:
      • Hyperlinks
      • GIFs and moving images
      • Images from published sources, other institutions, or government records

Veteran/deployment stories will not be accepted unless they meet criteria outlined above.

Our Story Guide provides tips on writing your story.

Oral histories are collected by the Museum’s Oral History team. Interview participants are selected based on gaps in the collection and upcoming projects. To learn more about the oral history program, visit the Oral History page.