Event Details

On the morning of December 6, 1917, the SS Mont-Blanc, heavily loaded with explosives, collided with the SS Imo. A fire caused by the collision ignited explosives aboard the Mont-Blanc, causing the largest human-made explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons. The blast devastated areas on both sides of the Harbour including the Richmond district of Halifax and the Mi’kmaw community at Turtle Grove, killing approximately 2,000 people and injuring 9,000 others.

Join us on October 11 for this special event marking the upcoming 100 year commemoration of the Halifax Explosion. The event features experts from Dalhousie’s Faculties of Health, Arts & Social Sciences, and Architecture, the Narratives in Space + Time Society, and the Dalhousie Art Gallery.

Agenda

• 6 – 7 p.m.: Opening of the Dal Art Gallery’s Halifax Explosion exhibit
• 7 – 8:30 p.m.: Halifax Explosion expert panel event, Dunn Theatre
• 8:30 p.m.: Social reception in the Dal Art Gallery

Panelists

• The Missing Link –  Dr. David A. Sutherland, Retired History professor, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• The table as a contemporary archive, in both physical and augmented reality – Brian Lilley, Faculty of Architecture and Derek Reilly, Faculty of Computer Science
• Social work and social conflict after the Halifax Explosion – Michelle Hebert Boyd (BA’91, BSW’96, MSW’05), Dal social work alum
• The ESS response, 100 years ago – Ismael Aquino, Health Administration lecturer, Faculty of Health
• How the Halifax Explosion changed the career direction of nurses and nursing practice – Gloria Stephens, Registered Nurse
• Pharmacists and the Halifax Explosion – Mary MacCara,College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health
• Whose explosion is it anyway? – Dr. Martha Radice, Sociology & Social Anthropology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

View full speaker bios »

Open Dialogue events bring members of the Dal community together to collaborate, discuss, challenge and otherwise engage in meaningful and thoughtful conversation on topics ranging from current issues to historical events.

Questions?

This event is free and open to the public, and the venue is wheelchair accessible. Free parking is available in any Dalhousie lot from Monday to Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Kathy MacFarlane, Faculty of Health
Kathleen.MacFarlane@Dal.Ca
902-494-1800

Genevieve MacIntyre, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Genevieve.MacIntyre@dal.ca
902-494-6288

Wes Johnston, Dalhousie Art Gallery
gallery@dal.ca
902.494.2195

Image: Walking the Debris Field: A Natural History, December 6, 2015. Architectural model of the Richmond School on Roome Street destroyed in the Halifax Explosion. Photograph by Robert Bean.