Mike Baker

Michael Baker

Mike Baker

The Embassy Cultural House, 1983 to 1990 catalogue. This catalogue was published in 2012 to accompany the survey exhibit "The Embassy Cultural House, 1983 to 1990" presented at Museum London.

Michael G. Baker is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with degrees in history (1982) and education (1983).

From 1985 to 1990, he was Collections Curator at Fanshawe Pioneer Village. From 1990 to 2007, he was Curator of Regional History at Museum London and in 2007 he moved to the County of Elgin’s Cultural Services Department as Curator of the Elgin County Museum. In 2017 he was appointed Manager of Museums and Archives for the County of Elgin.

He is the editor of Downtown London: Layers of Time (1999) and the co-editor with Hilary Bates Neary, of 100 Fascinating Londoners and Street Names of London – An Illustrated Guide, both published by James Lorimer of Canada.

He is a former president of the London Branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario and of the Heritage London Foundation and a past President of the Elgin Historical Society.

Michael wrote a historical essay for the 2012 exhibition catalogue "Embassy Cultural House 1983-1990" published by Museum London.

Michael Baker's Book Downtown London

EDITORIAL TEAM

ONLINE FOUNDER
Tariq Hassan Gordon

COFOUNDERS & CURATORIAL ADVISORS
Jamelie Hassan & Ron Benner

ADVISORY CIRCLE
Samer Abdelnour, Marnie Fleming, Wyn Geleynse, Fern Helfand, S F Ho, Lorraine Klaasen, Judith Rodger, Ruth Skinner, Mary Lou and Dan Smoke,  and Lucas Stenning

COORDINATING EDITORS
Tariq Hassan Gordon & Olivia Mossuto

WEB DESIGN & SOCIAL MEDIA
Tariq Hassan Gordon, Ira Kazi, Olivia Mossuto, Niloufar Salimi, JoAnna Weil

VIRTUAL TOUR
Andreas Buchwaldt

PRINT PUBLICATIONS
Blessy Augustine, Shelley Kopp, Olivia Mossuto

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Andreas Buchwaldt, Blessy Augustine, Anahí González, Ira Kazi, Shelley Kopp, Ashar Mobeen, Niloufar Salimi,  Jenna Rose Sands, JoAnna Weil & Michelle Wilson.

OUR STORY

Artists Jamelie Hassan and Ron Benner and jazz musician Eric Stach founded the Embassy Cultural House (1983-1990) located in the restaurant portion of the Embassy Hotel at 732 Dundas Street in East London. Other former members of the board were: Debrann Eastabrook, Henry Eastabrook, Sharron Forrest, Wyn Geleynse, Janice Gurney, Jean Hay (1929 - 2008), Doug Mitchell, Kim Moodie, Gerard Pas, Peter Rist, Wanda Sawicki, Jean Spence and Jennie White. In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Embassy Cultural House was re-envisioned as a virtual artist-run space and website.

This project is supported by the Ontario Arts Council and the London Arts Council through the City of London's Community Arts Investment Program.

Thank you to our partners

E M B A S S Y C U L T U R A L H O U S E . C A

The Embassy Cultural House (ECH) is located in London, Ontario, Canada on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Lenape, Attawandaron and Huron-Wendat peoples, at the forks of Deshkan Ziibi (Antler River), an area subject to the Dish with One Spoon Wampum and other treaties. The ECH strives to create meaningful relationships between the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island and our contributors. The ECH honours the stewardship of the many Indigenous peoples who have resided on these lands since time immemorial.