Drum Making Workshop
Saturday, October 26, 2019

Join Derrick Whiteskyclould of the Metis Nation in a ceremonial and educational drum making workshop.

This hands-on workshop will teach participants how to make a traditional First Nations drum. Raw hide from elk skin and cedar tree wood will be combined to connect you with the natural elements of this instrument building workshop. Frames will be pre-cut, no carving is involved. Derrick will complete the process with a ceremonial blessing and perform traditional Metis and Coast Salish songs. No experience is necessary. Each participant will leave with their own traditional 16” drum and beater.
Why I Design
Saturday, November 2, 2019

Explore and celebrate innovation in action at this year’s Why I Design event. 25 designers stationed throughout the museum’s galleries discuss approaches to their practice in this personable, lively single afternoon and evening event.

Why I Design spotlights the process of invention and immersion. This year’s Why I Design pays particular attention to the emerging forces behind the Circular Economy, which include elements of wholeness, inclusion, knowledge, connection, and community in addition to reconciliation and decolonization as a regional factor. The curation of this year's exhibition reaches beyond traditional design to include people who are making design happen by bringing together people, systems, and materials which are striving to develop meaningful impact within their communities.
There is Truth Here: Creativity and Resilience in Children’s Art from Indian Residential and Day Schools
On view until Sunday, January 5, 2020

There is Truth Here brings a new line to bear on the role of art as part of children’s knowledge, identity, and experiences of Indian Residential and Day Schools. Through paintings, drawings, sewing, beading, drumming, singing, and drama produced by children and youth who attended schools in British Columbia and Manitoba the exhibition seeks to contribute in vital and new ways to dialogues and initiative about truth telling, reconciliation, and redress in Canada.
Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives
Extended until Sunday, January 12, 2020

This exhibition delves into the life stories of local animals and plants—how they relate to each other and how they connect people to nature in the city. Scenic design, videos, taxidermy, crowdsourcing technologies , and the display of natural specimens breathe life into these tales of co-habitation. The immersive nature of the exhibition, including hands-on activities, encourages visitors to examine their relationship with nature, think about momentarily disconnecting from their devices, and find equilibrium with the natural world around them.

Haida Now: A Visual Feast of Innovation and Tradition
Gallery Tours at 11:30 and 1:30 from Friday to Monday

Haida Now: A Visual Feast of Innovation and Tradition  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.
Join the discussion! Tell us what reconciliation means to you and tag @museumofvan + #MOVRealConciliation on Instagram or Twitter. View posts.
For nine consecutive years, the Museum of Vancouver has been the grateful recipient of a BC History Digitization Program grant from the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC. The program promotes increased access to BC historical resources by providing matching funds for digitization projects that result in free online access to provincial historical material. The funding has allowed the museum to digitally photograph each year an average of 2,500 artefacts connected to the history of the province. This ongoing digital photography program is now responsible for the digitization of over 40% of MOV’s collection of approximately 70,000 artefacts.

Our publicly accessible on-line database, openMOV , offers a more in-depth look, a chance to explore the collection.
#WorldTeachersDay - October 5, 2019

Jane Lougheed, Curator of Learning

MOV would not have the education department that it has today without its Curator of Learning, Jane Lougheed. Her commitment to fostering learning through the use of the museum's collection allowed for the department to grow and succeed!

Selfless, thoughtful, empowering, and (most of all) humble - Jane's infectious positive nature and dedication to her team manifests itself into the educational programming MOV is known for!
 
Jane - from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for everything you do to make MOV shine.
 
- MOV Staff
Reconciliation: Moving forward through education
Provincial Pro D Day Workshop
Friday, October 25, 2019

Join K-12 teachers for a meaningful day of learning intended to support educators achieve the Indigenous-focused learning goals and objectives outlined in the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum. Focus will be on First Nations groups within British Columbia with an emphasis on the local host nations; Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

Workshop participants will be introduced to foundational knowledge about First Nations peoples with activities designed to enhance their understanding of the concepts of assimilation, resilience, cultural revitalization and reconciliation.
Brighten Up Your Fall With Vancouver’s Only Neon Exhibit

Just about ready to get one of those daylight lamps to deal with the upcoming weather? We think you should check out Vancouver’s neon exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver first.

Named ‘Neon Vancouver Ugly Vancouver’ the exhibit features a collection of Vancouver’s neon signs from the 1950s onwards. Long before it was the city of glass, Vancouver actually had over 19000 neon signs- more than Las Vegas!
George Littlechild - Sacred Honouring, Sacred Blessing
October 5-19, 2019

Titled Sacred Honouring, Sacred Blessing this forthcoming exhibition will be on display at Lattimer Gallery & Gifts at MOV and will feature over ten new works. From large-format oil paintings that measure 36” x 36” to smaller mixed media compositions, the pieces in this show are both visually striking and poignant.

George Littlechild has pieces in both public and private collections across Canada, and he has won some of the top Arts awards in the country, such as the Hnatyshyn Foundation Indigenous Art Award. While his skills are diverse – he has written five books and taught at several institutions in Western Canada – he is widely known for his colourful paintings and mixed media compositions that explore social issues and the Cree concept of Wahkomkanak, which means “our ancestors”.
Frog - Red Cedar Pendant with Abalone by Shain Jackson

These pendants are quintessentially West Coast, created from salvaged Red Cedar and abalone shell. These cedar pendants are made by Spirit Works, a Vancouver company that is 100% Aboriginal owned and operated.

The Frog is a symbol of innocence and the community. This pendant measures 1 3/8" x 1 1/2".

Please note that the shade of the cedar will differ from pendant to individual pendant.
Bill Reid Gallery Presents...
Royal Portrait
October 2, 2019 -
January 19, 2020
 
Royal Portrait  will feature a collection of carvings, jewelry, and portraits by Morgan Asoyuf honouring the Indigenous matriarchs in her life. Photographic portraits of Indigenous activists wearing crowns, frontlets, and headdresses animate Asoyuf’s contemporary treasures and bring forth a new interpretation of the “royal portrait.” While European Royal portraiture seeks to define the image of the monarch and to confirm their power and wealth— Royal Portrait  highlights the true meaning of royalty for Indigenous peoples which is linked to how well we take care of others and the environment. 
Vancouver International Film Festival Presents...
Haida Modern
Friday, October 11, 2019 @ The Playhouse
 
In the 50 years since he carved his first totem pole and saw it raised on Haida Gwaii, Robert Davidson has come to be regarded as one of the world’s foremost modern artists. And yet, in the insightful interviews captured here, he retains a remarkably soft-spoken manner and a charming humility that belies what an influential figure he’s become in both the realms of art and activism. In listening to his sage words and admiring his sublime handiwork, we come to understand how widespread appreciation of his art has stoked interest in the 14,000-year-old culture that spawned it and motivated non-Indigenous Canadians to support First Nations activists intent on defending their heritage and the land they hold sacred.

Screening Friday October 11th at the Playhouse as part of VIFF 2019.

*Ticket holders get 2 for 1 admission to Museum of Vancouver to see the Haida Now exhibition , containing works by Robert Davidson.
Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Presents...
Autumn Fair
Saturday, October 19, 2019
 
The  Kits House Autumn Fair  is back again for its ninth year! For one day only, on Saturday October 19th from 11am to 4pm, Kits House is going to transform into a busy marketplace with a ton of family-friendly activities.

Vine St between 5th and 8th Ave will be shut down to vehicle transit and be filled with talented live musicians, unique and local artisanal vendors, amazing community partners, food trucks serving up delicious grub, face painting provided by the professional students of  Blanche MacDonald ,  fun carnival games, a fall themed photobooth, a need-to-win gift basket bonanza, the Pumpkin Patch, and much more!
We acknowledge that the city of Vancouver is on the shared, unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Skwxwú7mesh and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.