Kari Valmestad
Candidate, M.A. Public History
| Degrees: | B.A. with Great Distinction in Art History; minor in History (Concordia University) |
| Email: | karivalmestad@cmail.carleton.ca |
Current Program: MA Public History (2022)
Supervisors:
Dr. John C. Walsh and Dr. Paul Litt
Academic Interests:
Heritage, deindustrialization and gentrification, public memory, performing history through spectacle and remediation, architecture/art history, practices of remembering
Select Publications and Current Projects:
Valmestad, Kari. “Displacing Deindustrialization: Industrial Heritage at the Lachine Canal.” Historiae 20 (May 2022): 19-39.
Valmestad, Kari, and Kioni Sasaki-Picou. “Becoming not to Be: Identity and Place in Manuel Mathieu’s Bennett.” Yiara Magazine 10 (May 2022): 29-34.
Valmestad, Kari. “Prescribing Civility: Social Reform and Metropolitan Imperialism in Central Park.” Historiae 19 (May 2021): 13-39.
Select Conference Contributions:
Valmestad, Kari. “More Harm Than Good?: Examining the Gentrifying Effects of Heritage in Post-Industrial Spaces.” UNB-UMaine Graduate History Conference. University of New Brunswick. March 18-19 2023. (Forthcoming)
Teaching Experience:
The History of the Internet (S. Graham), Winter 2023
Public History: Memory to Museums (D. Dean), Fall 2022
Description of Research:
My SSHRC-funded M.A. research project purports to make evident the socio-economic harms of heritage-led urban development in post-industrial spaces. Using the Exchange District in Treaty 1 Territory (Winnipeg) as a central case study, this project considers the often-overlooked after-effects of heritage development in deindustrialized areas to demonstrate how urban renewal initiatives can foster and contribute to gentrification, particularly in historically working-class neighbourhoods. Other aims of this work include thinking about the present and future role of heritage in society and the importance of community-led heritage projects in post-industrial areas.