Reading the Riot Boards

Friday, June 15, 2012 to Sunday, September 30, 2012

Following the riot on June 15, 2011 after the Vancouver Canucks lost game seven of the Stanley Cup finals, broken windows on downtown businesses were hastily boarded up with sheets of plywood. The day after the riot fans and others met to clean up the city and began to leave messages on the boards - condemning the violence and looting, professing their love for the city, and stating “this is not the real Vancouver”. The MOV received 86 of the boards for its permanent collection. Opening June 15, 2012, the MOV will exhibit 15 the boards in the MOV Studio.

What began as a utilitarian reaction to broken windows grew into an open source work of art, with messages from thousands of Vancouverites and visitors to the city. At a time when world media fixed on Vancouver’s wrongs, residents-as-authors and as-artists used the riot boards to examine our collective conscience, encourage reconciliation, address the city’s social ills, and remind us that hope persists.

Commemorative T-shirts and Tote bags
To commemorate the positive clean-up response of Vancouverites following the riots, we've produced two riot-board inspired items, a t-shirt and a tote bag. Items can be purchased in Vancouver at The Latest Scoop or at Book'Mark, the VPL central branch store.