Welcome to the world of traditional natural dyeing!

This hands-on workshop will be taught by a traditional Musqueam Coast Salish artist as well as an ecologist as they cover the many facets of our natural world through fibre. They will cover how to identify, process and dye with a wide range of different mushrooms and lichens from our forests. Your dye colour pallet will grow exponentially as we explore and celebrate the rich networks under our feet.

Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022

Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm

Admission: $155 General Admission, $145 MOV Members, $125 Indigenous peoples*

*Please call 604-736-4431 during MOV business hours to obtain a discount code if you are an MOV Member or Indigenous. A service fee and GST is also applied to ticket sales.

Spaces are limited. Register early. Masks are recommended but not required.

Workshop ticket includes FREE admission to our feature exhibitions Boarder X, That Which Sustains Us, A Seat at the Table, Neon Vancouver Ugly Vancouver, and c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city. Consider arriving early with your event ticket to view exhibits!

If you are having trouble using the embedded form above, please try to purchase your ticket directly on Eventbrite here.

For general inquiries regarding this workshop please contact Indigenous Programs and Community Engagement Coordinator, Jasmine Wilson here.

Rita Kompst - Local Artist, Musqeaum

Rita was born and raised in Musqueam. Her late father, Joseph Becker (Point), was a former Chief of Musqueam. He was also a self-taught artist who was well known for his wood carving and Salish designs. Her late mother, Evelyn Norris (Campbell) was also from Musqueam but lived on Vancouver Island. She is the eldest child and had 5 sisters and 5 brothers.

“I had never considered myself to have any artistic abilities at all but while delving back in my culture and heritage, I discovered a passion for cedar weaving and knitting. I currently work full-time as an executive assistant and now that my children are grown, spend my free time being creative! I met Zoe at a dye workshop in Musqueam and felt an instant connection to her and the work of dyeing mushrooms and other products. It is an honour to study and teach the art of dyeing with mushrooms and locally foraged products!”

Zoe McDonell - Wildlife Ecologist & Mushroom Dyer

Zoe is a Vancouver artist of settler-descent who specializes in dyeing using the plants, windfall lichens and mushrooms from our forests. She has been teaching workshops, lectures and demonstrations on historical natural dye techniques and other fiber arts for almost 20 years.

When not dyeing, Zoe is an ecologist and studies how forest communities can be more effectively managed for conservation. She lives with her husband and children on the Musqueam Reserve.

“I first met Rita at a mushroom dye workshop and knew we were destined to have some great collaborations together. I am very excited to partner with Rita to teach this workshop.”