Keeping Us Safe (English)
Toronto History Museums Artifact Collection
Installation Images
Face Shield, 60.5 cm x 45.5 cm
Temporary Identification badge, 16 cm x 6.7 cm
City of Toronto Information Signage (Park), 60.5 cm x 45.5 cm
City of Toronto Information Signage (Stay Apart), 60.5 cm x 45.5 cm
PPE Medical Isolation Gown, 64 cm x 101.6 cm
A collection of objects related to Covid-19; a sign demonstrating how to keep a safe distance from another person, an ID badge, a yellow medical gown, and a plastic face shield.
A rectangular piece of clear plastic with rounded bottom corners. A blue band at the top has large text in the middle that reads, “Face Shield.” On the left of the label, smaller text reads, “Warm Notice: Only used for daily protection, kitchen protection. Please remove the outer protective film before using.” On the right of the label, a bulleted list reads, “Anti-fog face shield. Protect full face from droplets, saliva, splash, oil, dust. Good elasticity and light weight. Adjustable headband relieves pressure.”
A vertical paper badge in a plastic sleeve with a metal clip on top,. It is about the size of a deck of cards. The badge is mostly white with a light green band on the top and bottom. The top band says “Toronto” in big letters and underneath, “Long-Term Care Homes and Services.” In the middle white section it says, “Richard Gerrard,” and the green band on the bottom says, “Redeployed Staff.”
A white vertical sign, the size of a poster, with two bright red square bands at the top that says, “Covid-19 Alert. CLOSED. Due to Covid-19 all park amenities, including playgrounds, are closed.” Beneath that in black text, it reads, “To help stop the spread of Covid-19, residents should stay home, except for essential travel. Practice good physical distancing - two meters apart or about the length of a hockey stick. For more: toronto.ca/COVID-19.” With the city of Toronto’s logo at the bottom.
A white vertical sign, the size of a poster, demonstrating how to keep a safe distance from another person. In the top half of the sign, two blue people icons stand apart from each other with a double sided arrow in between them labeled, “6 ft (2 m).” Below that it reads, “Do your part. Stay apart,” in blue then red text. Below that, in smaller text, it reads, “Keep a distance of 6 ft (2 m) from others.” With the city of Toronto’s logo in our lower left hand corner and the website toronto.ca/COVID19 in our lower right. The sign has nail holes in the corners and is slightly weathered and torn.
A folded up lemon yellow disposable medical gown made from a thin synthetic material. The material is stiff and holds its creases as if it’s just been removed from a box. The neck line is wide and stitched with white thread, long ties made from the same material hang off the neck and waist line. The left sleeve is folded over the stomach, an elastic band at the wrist bunches the fabric.
Installation Details
These artifacts were collected by City of Toronto staff members during the pandemic. While they were redeployed and working elsewhere, they collected many different kinds of objects knowing we would one day reflect on how they changed the landscape of our daily lives.
Memorable examples that visually transformed our environments are two City of Toronto information signs: Do Your Part / Stay Apart and About the Length of a Hockey Stick.
Richard Gerrard, a Historian with the City, was redeployed to work in long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic to cover unplanned staff absences due to illness and COVID-19 isolation requirements. Acquired into the collection were Gerrard’s personal protective equipment (PPE) daily kit: medical isolation gown, face shield, and temporary identification.
All objects acquired in 2020 and provided by the Toronto History Museums Artifact Collection.