Manitoba Museum seeks artifacts for right-to-vote exhibit

The Manitoba Museum is organizing a travelling exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, and it's seeking contributions from across the country.

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Canadians can donate or lend "artifacts and memories," the museum says.

On Jan. 28, 1916, Manitoba became the first province to extend the vote to women when its legislature amended the Manitoba Election Act.

"Social and political movements don't leave many objects behind," says Roland Sawatzky, curator of history.

"Things like banners, flags and pamphlets are often lost or thrown away after a movement succeeds (or fades). But we're not just looking for political statements. Everyday objects that are in some way connected to the suffragist movement, like a dress or pen or shoes, would be just as welcome."

"Nice Women Don't Want the Vote" is slated to open at the museum this fall, on Nov. 5, and run until February 2016. It will then travel across Manitoba for eight months before going on view at the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa starting Nov. 17, 2016.