MCN 2026

Trust is not built by content alone. It is built by the systems that shape how content is commissioned, interpreted, delivered, and sustained over time.

This case study examines Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge, a major exhibition at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and recipient of the 2026 Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Museums. The exhibition addresses one of the largest workplace human rights violations in Canadian history, telling the story of how more than 9,000 2SLGBTQI+ members of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP, and federal public service were investigated, harassed, and fired by the Canadian state.

As exhibition lead responsible for design and integration, I worked across artistic collaboration, survivor testimony, interaction design, and institutional systems to build an experience audiences could trust. That meant more than producing compelling media. It required aligning commissioned artworks, voice-driven interactives, accessible design protocols, and narrative architecture into a coherent framework that could hold trauma, complexity, and public scrutiny without collapsing into spectacle.

For MCN’s theme of Trust & Longevity, this session argues that trust in museum technology is inseparable from governance, accessibility, and care. Voice interfaces, immersive media, and artist-led commissions can deepen engagement, but only when supported by ethical decision-making, inclusive design, and infrastructure built for endurance rather than novelty.

Drawing on this project and related work in voice interaction, inclusive design, and enterprise digital governance, I will offer a practical framework for using technology to support difficult histories in ways that are credible now and sustainable over time.