Campaign - The Future of History - National Museum of Bermuda

The Future of History

At the National Museum of Bermuda (NMB), we are committed to ensuring that learning Bermuda history is part of every educational journey on Island. Central to this vision is expanding museum education offerings and outreach while providing future generations with opportunities to research Atlantic World history at NMB. To accomplish this agenda, we launched The Future of History Campaign in 2020: a historic fundraising effort to usher the Museum into a new era.

Our multi-year Campaign (January 2020–December 2022) set out to raise at least $8.5 million to support a new vision for the Museum as a vital educational resource and steadfast community partner while also elevating our Atlantic World research and thought leadership.

At the campaign’s close on December 31, 2022, we raised $9.9M through the exceptional generosity of individuals, families, corporations, and foundations. We are humbled by the generosity of our donor community and their commitment to our mission. Our impact and the Museum’s future are stronger and more promising than ever.

Learn About the Future of History Campaign

Download

Watch Video

Campaign Pillars

The Campaign focused on three pillars: $3.5M for sustained funding for education, $3.5M for visionary investments for an expanding museum and $1.5M for operational stability. Enhancements to these core areas will benefit Bermuda educators, students, and lifelong learners and expand the Museum’s influence locally and globally.

$3.5 Million
Education

Local Imperatives

Learn More

Local Imperatives

History is more than a collection of dates, events and objects. Learning history is fundamental. It provides context that explains how Bermuda positions itself to the world—how this has been done in the past, in the present, and how this will be done in the future. Our Education Strategy (2019) guides our decisions and ensures we stay true to our mission to connect people to Bermuda’s diverse past. Over the past four years, we have been building our Education Department from the ground up. Our small team of experts are developing and rolling out programmes to shift how history is shared and taught on Island. Our programmes serve learners of all ages (from 3 to 100+), teaching new skills and providing resources to help us all better understand and navigate an increasing complex world.

Campaign funding for education will:

Make free pilot programmes (already established and in development) permanent offerings at NMB. Examples include: NMB’s Teacher Professional Development Programme, Learning at the Museum student programmes, and Early Years Programme. These programmes promote critical and creative thinking and bring history to life
Help NMB undertake critically needed exhibit updates to ensure everyone finds their story at NMB, and Bermuda history is framed in an Atlantic World lens
Establish a home for learning at NMB: a new Learning Centre that is a dynamic, flexible space to welcome learners of all ages
Incorporate digital technology and infrastructure improvements that will breathe new life into our historic buildings

$3.5 Million
Expansion

Internal Opportunities

Learn More

Internal Opportunities

In 2013, Casemates officially became a part of the National Museum, expanding our property to 16-acres. Nearly a decade later, our vision for connecting the east and west ends of Dockyard is clear. For students who come to NMB at a young age, there will be play-based programmes to support early exploration. As children grow, school trips and strong teachers will reinforce classroom learning. As graduate and advanced students, many will return to conduct research in our archives and to add their contributions to our understanding of Bermuda’s 500 years of exchange across the Atlantic. The immediate task at hand is the restoration of the buildings—stopping the damage of the wind and rain. NMB has a remarkable tradition of saving our Island’s most valued cultural assets. Our plan to transform the Casemates site into a centre for recording, witnessing, and exploring a more complex and complete history of Bermuda follows this tradition.

Visionary investments for an expanding NMB campus will:

Stabilise and save the barracks and Upper Ordnance buildings of Casemates for future use
Fund a robust business plan to ensure sustainability for a future home of Atlantic World studies: a research hub that will enable local students to pursue higher education, Atlantic World research and new career opportunities

$1.5 Million
Operational Stability

Institutional Obligations

Learn More

Institutional Obligations

Annual operating funds are the backbone of all the work we do. Donations made to our annual fund, The Anchor Fund, in 2020 and 2021 were counted toward our Campaign total, making it a “comprehensive campaign”. These funds enabled us to address immediate needs and adapt rapidly when unexpected challenges – like the COVID-19 pandemic – arose. For nearly fifty years, NMB has stepped in to save and secure Bermuda’s past. Now, we are securing our future. Part of The Future of History Campaign was also to invest in a new Education Endowment so that new programmes can have ongoing support, and become permanent offerings of the Museum. This endowment will benefit today’s and tomorrow’s students, teachers and lifelong learners.

Immediate and long-term stability will:

Provide stronger finances to ensure we can support expanded offerings and education spaces, while operating at the highest level
Fund a newly seeded education endowment to reduce budgetary strain

Follow Our Progress

Campaign work began as soon as we started raising funds in early 2020 and is ongoing. We encourage you to follow our progress here as we meet our short-, mid-, and long-term Campaign goals.

Education

Expansion

Operational Stability

Education

Teacher Professional Development programme (launched March 2020, ongoing): we have held 12 workshops serving 183 local educators. We are now focused on creating essential and needed teacher resources (historical summaries and activities) to support classroom learning. There are eight resources in development.
At Home with History (April 2020-2021): a virtual programme that provided a steady rollout of digital, activity-driven, and fun materials connecting everyone to Bermuda’s past while we were all socially distanced due to COVID lockdowns and restrictions.
United Together (April 2020-2021): a project that documented Bermuda residents’ experiences of living history during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected photos, images, and stories and made them public on our website and social media, connecting us during an unprecedented and uncertain time. All submissions are now part of NMB’s permanent collection: a historic record for future generations.
Tracing our Roots/Routes (TORR) (launched January 2021, ongoing): this free, award-winning community education programme is comprised of online webinars led by local and international experts and resources that provide tools and strategies to research, document, and share your personal history. We also launched an on-site contemporary art exhibit (Traces and Pastimes, see below) as part of this programme. All recordings and materials are online.
Bermuda Family Scrapbook (launched Feb 2022 – ongoing): an Island-wide community project to gather historic family photographs and associated stories with a goal to put the faces of our community on our walls and enhance the historic record with personal histories. Bermuda Family Scrapbook is a project under the umbrella of TORR.
Portuguese Voices (2024): a new project in collaboration with the Portuguese Cultural Assocation of Bermuda, shifting how history is shared by adding new voices to the historic record. Participants joined an intensive, 6-week digital storytelling initiative with US non-profit Story Center to create their own digital story about their Portuguese heritage. This is part of NMB’s celebration of the 175^th anniversary of the first arrival of Portuguese immigrants at Bermuda. Portuguese Voices is a project under TORR.
The Objects that Make Us (in development): this project, also under the umbrella of TORR, will use Conversation Studios, a modern approach to recording oral histories and community stories using digital technology and an interview method and process (developed by US non-profit StoryCenter). Through this project, we will build a collection of family stories that reveals individual experiences and help us see the histories that bind us together. All recorded stories will become part of our permanent collection.
Adult Ambassador Programme (launched March 2023): 20 new ambassadors trained at NMB in spring 2023 in this programme which moves beyond traditional docent tours. Participants deepened their understanding of Bermuda history and learned how to facilitate tours and education activities that bring the Museum and Bermuda history to life.
Early Years Programme (in development): we have engaged an early years expert, who, with peers, has identified themes to fit private and public school early years’ curriculum. She has prototyped hands-on, inquiry-based activities for 4- and 5-year-olds that will build a strong platform for a lifetime of learning and museum engagement. Local artists and designers are engaged in designing the activities and a f.un, whimsical, animated song is almost complete.
Bermuda & Atlantic World Lecture Series (ongoing): this free lecture series uncovers Bermuda’s links with Latin and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the UK, and Europe, and the global forces that helped shape Bermuda as we know it today. Past lectures are available to view.

Education: Teacher Professional Development Programme

Campaign support will help us undertake critically needed exhibit updates to ensure everyone finds their story at NMB and Bermuda history is framed in an Atlantic World lens.

Traces and Pastimes (July 2021 – October 2022): a contemporary art installation by Bermudian artist Gherdai Hassell that explored ancestry, cultural identity, memory, and time through large-scale digital collages and biodegradable flagging tape sculptures. Her work focused on her own discovery of her family history which she traced to West Africa.
Homestead (November 2022 – October 2024): Through a collection of large format portraits of multi-generational families at their homesteads, local artist Meredith Andrews captured the fortitude of family life in Bermuda. Her vibrant family photographic portraits were an artistic response to our Bermuda Family Scrapbook project. Accompanying the stunning portraits was an audio component where visitors can listen to some of the family members reflect on what home means to them and their favourite memory of their homestead.
FAMILY (FAM, I Love You) (October 2023 – November 2024): With a collection of intimate and candid portraits, Bermudian artist Jayde Gibbons explored the enduring power of family and community bonds in the face of profound sorrow and bereavement. Her photographs chronicle poignant moments from five local funerals and celebrations of life. The exhibit was Jayde’s artistic response to Bermuda Family Scrapbook.
Alternative Voices: Perspectives in Contemporary Azorean Art (June 2024 – October 2024): Guest curated by Lisa Howie and Lenor Alemida Pereira features Azorean artists: Susana Aleixo Lopes, Leonor Almeida Pereira and Filipe Franco. The exhibit honoured the 175th anniversary of the first arrival of Portuguese immigrants at Bermuda and builds on that legacy. It linked with NMB’s permanent exhibit, Azores and Bermuda.
Stone: From Bermuda to Charleston (November 2024 – November 2025): Featuring work by artist and architect John Gardner, Stone combines multidisciplinary art with historical insights to explore the significance of Bermuda limestone in shaping both Bermuda and Charleston, South Carolina.
Boat Loft exhibits: Transformation of our historic Boat Loft, (one of the last buildings at NMB awaiting updates) will include tactile and digital displays, audio components and oral histories to create new exhibits, putting hundreds more objects on display. Research and interpretative planning are currently underway for:
- On the Open Ocean exhibit will explore how Bermudians have seized opportunity and show how extensive kinship and communication networks throughout Atlantic ports impacted mariners and their families and networks in Bermuda.
- In Local Waters exhibit will explore how Bermuda’s shape and geography formed a natural nursery for innovations in maritime technology. Using local watercraft, we will show how skills and knowledge drawn from Africa, the Caribbean and Europe became second nature in a culture reliant on boats.
Hall of History new mural lighting (in development): The old chandelier was removed and new lighting identified thanks to in-kind consultation from museum lighting experts. New lighting will allow the mural to be seen as artist Graham Foster intended.
Incorporating digital technology (launched 2022, ongoing): in addition to using contemporary art like Traces and Pastimes and Homestead as an entry point to learning Bermuda history, we are incorporating technology. The free Smartify app now has two NMB tours: the families of Homestead sharing what home and family means to them and a Black History in Bermuda tour which shares contributions of Black Bermudian community leaders and highlights associated NMB artefacts on display. The app enhances NMB visits and can be used off site. Free WIFI was installed at NMB in 2023 to support Smartify and our incorporation of technology into exhibits.

We will establish a new Learning Centre, housed in NMB’s existing historic Shifting House (1837). This will be a dynamic, flexible space that will welcome learners of all ages. As one of the last buildings at NMB to find a new purpose, its completion will mark the beginning of a new chapter: a home for learning at NMB, fostering educational experiences for all to better understand Bermuda and Atlantic World history

Preliminary plans are complete
We have now engaged a dedicated project management team (Bermuda Project Management Limited) to progress the restoration and repurposing of the building

Review Our Plans

Expansion

Casemates Barracks:

Substantial exploratory and preparatory work was carried out to develop a plan to waterproof the roofs and stabilise the buildings. This was conducted by Bermuda Project Management Limited (BPML) in consultation with NMB staff and other preservation experts. BPML is providing some in-kind support for project management
With Planning permission approval in place, work began in April 2024 to remove the 1960s asbestos asphalt layer from the Barracks roof. The Government of Bermuda assisted with the cost of the asbestos removal and Island Construction assisted with reduced asbestos removal fees
The asbestos removal uncovered the original roof which was laid with large, 1.5-inch-thick beautiful Welsh slate slab. The historic gutter system was also uncovered during this process, and all has been photographed, documented, and samples preserved by the Museum to record the historic construction techniques
Work has commenced on widening the gutter system in preparation for laying an impermeable membrane with a concrete layer to make the roof watertight and protect the Welsh slate

Upper Ordnance Yard

All the Upper Ordnance buildings’ roofs underwent major repairs which included removal of invasive vegetation, large sections of concrete replacement, pitch and gutter adjustment and painting. The Crisson Construction team revitalised the roofs, transforming them from a state of disrepair to gleaming, white, and fully waterproofed beauty

KPMG, along with NMB leadership, are currently working on the options analysis and business plan for a future center of Atlantic World research at the Casemates complex. As part of this process, numerous interviews have been conducted with overseas research institutes and universities (started 2023, ongoing).

Operational Stability

Our operating fund (The Anchor Fund) was included in 2020 and 2021 making fundraising effort a comprehensive campaign. We exceeded our Campaign annual fund goal by $800,000 (2020–21), allowing us to navigate the pandemic and accelerate and expand education programmes and community outreach.

National Museum of Bermuda, Commissioner's House and Keep Yard

We exceeded our Campaign endowment goal ($1,500,000 raised). This new endowment will help bring stability to NMB’s burgeoning education department and the programmes that enrich our community.

“

“Supporting the Museum to preserve the past and strengthen our future is a gift to Bermuda and a gift to ourselves.”

Dr. Janet FergusonCampaign Co-Chair | NMB Trustee | Chair of NMB Education Comittee

Donors

Thank you to The Future of History Supporters

The Perot Family
Frederick Roger Snape
Stempel Foundation

Anonymous
Aspen Group

Susan and Robert Blee
Brian and Nancy Duperreault
Pamela Grace Ferreira, in memory of Alvin T. Ferreira
Donna Mae and Rees Fletcher
Jardine Matheson Bermuda
The Marine Trust
Sharon Vesey

Anonymous
Arch Reinsurance Ltd. and the Arch Group Foundation
Jim and Debbie Butterfield
Centennial Bermuda Foundation
Christian Humann Foundation
In Memory of Ann and Roderick DeCouto, by Katie and Jesse, Rebecca and Doug
Neptune Group
Buddy and Jenny Rego
Barrie Trimingham and David Pierson, in memory of Kenneth F. Trimingham and deForest W. (Shorty) Trimingham
XL Foundation

Anonymous, in memory of Horace Musson
Martha and George Butterfield
Heather and Tom Conyers
Ann and Peter Durhager
Fidelis Insurance
KPMG
Sheila and Tim Pettee
Elena Strong and Jeff Manson
The Hon. Trevor Moniz, ComIH
RenaissanceRe
Charles Thresh and Elin Daniels, in memory of Karen Patricia Thresh

Allied World Assurance Company Ltd.
Anonymous
Argus Group
AXIS Capital
Diana and Lars Bergquist
Bermuda Community Foundation
Bermuda International Shipping Ltd.
BF&M Insurance Group
Butterfield Group
CHUBB Bermuda
Colin Campbell
Donald and Liz Cox
Judy and John Collis
Michael and Mary Darling
Tim and Erica Davidson
Judy and James Gibbons
Cathy and Charles Gosling
Michael Grayston
Margaret and James Hallett
Katrina and John Hele
Janet Hoehlein and Jens Alers
Thomas James
Scott Hunter and Janet Kemp
Garry and Julie Madeiros
Louis and Betsy Mowbray
Yuko and Hiro Nakajima
Steve Lake and Sheila Nicoll
Oakley Capital
OBM Limited
Nancy and Brian O’Hara
Michelle and Santi Pujadas
Robert and Maryann Rice, in honour of Elena Strong and Katie Bennett
Mariette Savoie and Mark Smith
Social Entrepreneurship Charitable Foundation
Sompo International
Rosemary and John Talbot
Ann and Bill Westerfield
Mary and Richard Winchell

Linda and Max Abend
Jennifer and Kyle Adams
Grace and George Alayon
Richard Ambrosio
Anonymous
Argo Group
Ascot Bermuda
Deborah Atwood
Margaret and David Atwood
Alanna Baird and Alastair Fox
Holly Anne and Michael Barany
Roderick Barclay
Anne and Robin Bawtree
Katie Bennett and Ambrose Gosling
Benson Family/Stafford Surfaces
Mark, Isobel and Evan Berry
Jane Bielby
Kevin Blee
Christina Boerner and Crocker Bennett
Karen and David Brine
Kathleen Bragdon and Marley Brown
Brunel Limited
Philippa Burke
Linda Jo and Alan Burland
Stephanie Burns
Nancy and Than Butterfield
Seaver and Britt Call
Jean and John Campbell
Zoe Brady and Liam Carroll
John and Caroline Carty
Robert Childs
Diana and Nigel Chudleigh
Matthew Claridge
Crystal and Scott Clay
Margaret Collis
Cooper Gardner
Debbie and Dudley Cottingham
Margaret and Les Crane
The Cripps Foundation
Jazmin and Miguel Da Ponte
Elaine and Michael Darling
delMonte and Martha Davis
Estous Lee Davidson
Jennifer Davidson
Judith and Allan Davidson
Mary Davis
Mike Deevy
Andrew Dias and Maria Cruz
Bitten Dill
Kim Dismont Robinson and JJ Soares
Crystal and JP Doughty
Jane Downing
Wendy and Peter Dunne
Aditya and Soumya Dutt
Meredith Ebbin
Patricia Ellison and Richard Humphreys
ESC Limited
Maxine Esdaille
Dennis Fagundo
Barbara and John Faiella
Gill Farge
Margaret and George Fergusson
Marguerite Fields
Colin Fleming and Licia Martin
Yulanda Francis and Sheriden Ming
Douglas and Maria Frith
Rosanne Galloway
Lady Gibbons
Tracey and Chris Gibbons
Alan Gilbertson
Flora and Peter Goodall
The Grant Family
Sophia Greaves
Peter Green
Michael Green
Florence and Grant Hall
The Gutteridge Family
Marg Hammond, in memory of Ken Hammond
Ailyn and Andrew Harris
Hannover Re
Patricia and J. Henry Hayward
Joan Henehan
Janice and Erich Hetzel
Hiscox Bermuda
Sue and Quentin Jackson
Lesley and Joseph Hoopes
Adam Hopkin
Bill and Joanne Hunt
In honour of Michael Spurling and Michael Whittall
Sharon and Larry Jacobs
Rosemary Jones and Paul Shapiro
Lauren and Michael Judd
Rudite and Jens Juul
Anne and Elizabeth Kast
Jim and Bonnie Kelliher
Sonia and Geoffrey Kelly
Rosemary and Stephen Kendall
Alexandra Mairs-Kessler and Kenan Kessler
Richard Klein
Christiana Skjodt-Knudsen and Lars Knudsen
Michelle Lafleur and James DeWolf
Bernadette and John Lang
David Lang
Robin Lang
The Lepercq Charitable Foundation, in honour of Frank Mutch
Larry and Lark Lombardo
Jade and Keith Lovell
Anthony Lumsden
Greg Lunn
Ruth and Brian Madeiros
Rachel Madewell
Paula and Michael Maguire
Jean Anne Manuel
Lawson Mapp
Mrs. & Mr. Allen Mardis
Markel
Marsh
Lesley and Charles Marshall
Ralph Blake Marshall, in honour of Ralph Owen Marshall
Robert and Theresa Mason
Robert Masters
Clarence Maxwell
Victoria and Richard McGlynn
Tom and Beth Miller
Patricia and Tom Mills, in honour of Pamela Kempe
Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture
Richard and Samantha Morris
Rear Admiral J.A.L. Myres CB
Katya and Michael Offereins
The Oil Group of Companies
Madree and John Orridge
Amanda Outerbridge and Peter Miller
Carol Outerbridge
Angela and Tommy Outerbridge
Lyle Jeffrey Pash, in honour of Michael J. A. Darling Jr.
Shirley and Roderic Pearman
George Pickering
Paula Pitman
Judith Pitt
Pro-Tone Cleaning Services Ltd.
Isabelle Ramsay-Brackstone
Fozeia Rana-Fahy
Percival St. G. Ratteray and Family
Cindy and Graham Redford
Margot Reid and Bruce Elliott
Pauline and Everard Richards
Jane Riker
Kerry and Dimity Rubie
Nathalie Rushe
Audrey Scott
Duncan Scott
Ru-Zelda Severin
Jeannette and George Shaw
Pamela and Ronald Shaw
Merle and Robert Sheen
Eugene Foggo Simon
Gerald D. E. Simons
Sue and Peter Simons
Sacha and Eugene Simmons
Natalie Skinner
Janet Smith
Paula and Tom Smith
Phil Smith
Barbara and Jan Spiering
Rick and Jane Spurling
Brian and Lindsey Steinhoff
Nancy and Robert Steynor
Aidan Stones
Roberta Stubbs
Alison Swan
Laura and Jason Taylor
Lyndy and Clive Thatcher
George Thomas Jr. and Kiernan Bell
Tidal Asset Management
Susan and Glenn Titterton
Alberta Tucker
Vivian Lynn and St. Clair B. Tucker
Kate Vacher
Validus Re
Virginia and Alden Vaughan
B. Lynn Wade
Nancy and John Wadson
Andrew Wallace
Debbie Walsh-Brown
Karin and Chip Waters
Continental Trust Corporation Limited, in memory of Charlotte Watlington
Katherine and Peter Watson
Susan and Nick Weare
Samuel B. Webb, Jr.
Alexander Werther
Jane and Stephen West
Sheila and Tom Wheeler
June Willing
Malcolm Wilson
Mary and Dave Winkler
Wyndham Hotel Group, LLC
Linda and Reid Young
Michael Young
Zurich Bermuda

Campaign Leadership

Campaign Chairs	Dr. Janet Ferguson Rees Fletcher
Campaign Honorary	Dr. Edward C. Harris
Campaign Executive Committee Members	Robert Blee George Fergusson Colin Fleming Neville Grant Ru-Zelda Severin Alison Swan Charles Thresh