Where We Are on Unceded Lands
Where We Are on Unceded Lands is an online toolkit designed to help non-Indigenous Vancouverites locate themselves individually and collectively in place, history and relationships that honour a shared commitment to redress and decolonization. This toolkit provides guidance on how to correctly pronounce local place names and identify some key resources found in the Vancouver area in the languages spoken by the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations: hən̓q̓əmin̓əḿ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim.
True Tribal: Contemporary Expressions of Ancestral Tattoo Practices
Virtual Tour
Did you miss True Tribal: Contemporary Expressions of Ancestral Tattoo Practices when it was on display at the Museum of Vancouver? Now you can take a virtual tour of the exhibition!
Featuring tattoo artists Tristen Jenni Sanderson (Woodland and Plains Cree), Terje Koloamatangi (Tongan), Nolan Malbeuf (Métis), Mo-Naga (Uipo Naga), Julie Paama-Pengelly (Māori), Gordon Sparks (Mi’kmaq), Nathalie Standingcloud (Cherokee) and Dion Kaszas (Nlaka’pamux), True Tribal explores 30-plus years of Indigenous tattooing from around the world. These artists are reconnecting with traditional skin marking practices, reviving ancestral tattoo designs and motifs, re-envisioning meaning and protocols, and re-fashioning ancestral application methods as part of a bigger effort to reclaim lands, cultures and identities.
All the videos from the exhibition are included, as well as additional videos by Christian Zane Media.
Home Brew: How Vancouver & Beer Made Each Other
The explosion of craft breweries in Vancouver over the past decade is not the first wave of breweries to operate in the city.
From the 1880s until the 1910s, a number of small breweries produced beer for the city’s thirsty population before first amalgamating locally, followed by national consolidation.
This catalogue is not an exhaustive history of these breweries, but a brief consideration of the many factors – human, ecological, geographic, etc. – that continually influence our evolving relationship with this complicated brew. Though beer is something enjoyed leisurely, it is not a passive thing. Beer influences tastes, revitalizes urban spaces, and inspires social and sustainable innovation. It is a driving force.
Community Connection Series
The Community Connections series invites organizations, individuals, and communities to tell their respective stories about the objects and belongings in the collection.
This Canadian Heritage funded project is part of the museum’s mission to amplify access to the collection and center often underserved and under or mis-represented communities through interactive digital engagement that fosters connection and learning.
A Conversation with author Anne Wyness about Vancouver’s James Inglis Reid Ltd.
The story of James Inglis Reid Ltd. - which opened in 1908 - is a story of community, family, and perseverance. The business closed in 1986 to make way for the Pacific Centre mall, but its story lives on at the MOV with one of the large glass windows forming part of the business’ display in the 1950’s gallery.
The Larder of the Wise: The Story of Vancouver’s James Inglis Reid Ltd., a book by long-time MOV member and supporter, M. Anne Wyness, traces the history of this family business as Vancouver grew, as well as its achievements, adaptations and more. The story echoes the experiences of immigrants today, who come to Canada with their hopes and aspirations.
Foncie’s Corner
Where stories & time intersect
An evolving photo exhibition and archive of photos taken by Foncie Pulice. Explore the current collection and add to it by submitting your photos. We encourage you to include heart-felt personal stories of life, death, trauma and joy, that when experienced together tell a larger historic story of life in British Columbia from the 1930s to the end of the 70s. There is cultural richness in Foncie’s photos and in the history they reveal in those flash moments on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver – over the course of almost half a century.
Take a walk through time with Foncie's Photos.
Temíxw - Stories from the Land
The triptych painting, “Temíxw,” was created through an artist residency offered by the Squamish Nation Language, Art, and Culture Department with funding received from the First People’s Cultural Foundation in 2017. The artist, Chief Ian Campbell, followed traditional protocols by calling witnesses at an unveiling ceremony held at the Museum of Vancouver on December 13, 2019.
Portrait of Tobias Wong by Dean Kaufman, 2002 in his apartment in New York’s East Village.
Virtual Tour
In the early 2000s, Tobias Wong (1974–2010) took the design world by storm. Born and raised in Vancouver, Wong was a brilliant and prolific artist whose career was all too short. Defying easy categorization, his work was wide ranging, pushing and dissolving disciplinary boundaries between conceptual art, performance and product design. Wong’s international career took off and developed in New York City, where he resided until his untimely death in 2010.
All We Want Is More: The Tobias Wong Project is an invitation to revisit Wong’s artistic contribution with fresh eyes. Recent social, environmental and technological events have transformed the way we see the world and inevitably the way we see Tobias Wong’s work. The title of the exhibition refers not only to his interest in conspicuous consumption but also to what we, the exhibition team, felt as we worked on this project: the more we delved into Wong’s work, the more we wanted to know about him!
A Seat at the Table
Virtual Tour
This exhibition explores historical and contemporary stories of Chinese Canadians in BC and their struggles for belonging. It looks to food and restaurant culture as an entry point to feature stories that reveal the great diversity of immigrant experience and of the communities immigrants develop.
A Seat at the Table is an opportunity to consider the contributions that Chinese migrants and their descendants have made to British Columbia, a province built from the interaction of successive and concurrent waves of migration and uninterrupted occupation by Indigenous peoples.
Virtual Tour
Presented with the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Boarder X is a travelling exhibition that features work by contemporary artists from Indigenous nations across Canada: Jordan Bennett, Roger Crait, Steven Davies, Mark Igloliorte, Mason Mashon, Meghann O’Brien, and Les Ramsay.
Reflecting on cultural, political, environmental, and social perspectives related to the landscapes and territories we occupy, the exhibition examines contested spaces, political borders, hybrid identities, and traditional lands. The artwork draws parallels to urban areas prohibiting skateboarding, ski runs unwelcome to snowboarders, and surfers’ constant search for uncrowded waves.
Virtual Tour
The Museum of Vancouver, in partnership with Haida Gwaii Museum, presents a visual feast of innovation and tradition with, Haida Now. Guest curated by Haida Curator Kwiaahwah Jones in collaboration with Viviane Gosselin, Co-curator and Director of Collections & Exhibitions at MOV, this exhibition features an unparalleled collection of Haida art, boasting more than 450 works.
Local Haida Artists shared their insights and knowledge about the art pieces, providing visitors with the opportunity to experience a powerful way to engage with the worldview and sensibility of the Haida people while gaining greater appreciation for the role museums can play in the reconciliation movement.
Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver
Virtual Tour
In the 1950s Vancouver had approximately 19,000 neon signs – more than Las Vegas! While some thought that thousands of signs signaled excitement and big city living, others thought they were a tawdry display that disfigured the city’s natural beauty. This deep civic controversy resulted in a turning point in Vancouver’s history and a change to the city’s urban landscape.
Enjoy the big city lights of Vancouver and catch a glimpse of the city from the 1950s through to the 1970s with this extraordinary collection of neon signs.
Isolating Together MOV
In early 2020 many of us were asked and recommended by Health Officials to isolate in our homes in an attempt to support health care workers and prevent the spread of COVID 19 into our communities. Our lives have now taken a dramatic turn and newly adopted social distancing lifestyles look and feel very different than the lives we were leading prior to the global pandemic.
We acknowledge every (indoor) life has a story to tell, and MOV wants to hear yours. In an effort to learn how you adapted to the limitations and opportunities of quarantine existence the museum would like to see, read and hear your stories, testimonies, performances, art and confessions of your new reality. Share with us your videos, writings and performances on Instagram and Twitter by including the hashtag #IsolatingTogetherMOV. We will post your submissions to this web page where your submissions will live beside others in the Greater Vancouver Regional District!
Indigenous Plant Guide
The Pacific Northwest is the most biodiverse region in Canada. Local Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) relating to Indigenous plants is extensive with more than 145 species utilized by members of the host nations for technology, food, medicine and ceremony. This guide spotlights a few of these plants, found growing in the Courtyard Garden at Museum of Vancouver, in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim (and soon in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓), the languages spoken by the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh communities. We thank them for sharing some of their knowledge with us.
Photo: Close up of a button blanket by Marion Wilson, Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (First half of 1900s) AA 1790
Textile Arts of the Pacific Northwest
Access this online exhibition featuring textile arts of the Pacific Northwest on Google Arts and Culture! Curated by MOV Curator of Indigenous Collections and Engagement, Sharon Fortney.
Acts of Resistance
Virtual Tour
Acts of Resistance, showcases the artwork of seven indigenous artist activists from the Pacific Northwest, whose designs flew from the Iron Workers Memorial bridge on July 3, 2018 to protest the Trans Mountain Expansion Pipeline project. The exhibition features all seven of the 40-foot-long streamers created for the aerial blockade. Featured artists include: Brandon Gabriel, Will George, Ronnie Dean Harris, Ocean Hyland, Jackie Fawn Mendez, Marissa Nahanee, and Ed Archie Noisecat.
Vancouver History Galleries
Virtual Tour
View all 4 of the permanent history galleries intro videos here: