The Museum of Anthropology is one of my favourite places in Vancouver, and I even shared that with the world through a feature I did with Google a few months ago. I recently visited for the first time since their renovation and was given the grand tour by Karen Duffek, Curator Pacific Northwest, Contemporary Visual Art.
Design by local architect Arthur Erickson beautifully showcases traditional and contemporary works of art and cultural significance from around the globe. Although the museum’s founding collection was from the South Pacific, there is no missing the First Nations influence.
The great hall is bright and open with floor to ceiling windows allowing the light to float in an surround stunning totem poles, bentwood box displays, welcome poles, and other artifacts.
Winding your way through the new and improved research galleries you’ll take a journey from the South Coast of BC all the way over to China and Botswana. The gallery is setup so that you can circumnavigate the globe as you make your way past each display.
Items within the window cases have also been carefully arranged in order to respect the traditions of their cultures. “We can think about finding a way to express the respect for the spirit that lives in the headdress at the time it is dressed. We need to show people from outside that it is still a living culture, that sacred things are still highly respected,” reads a quote from C. Anne Robinson within one of the window cases filled with Tseshaht headdresses.
Other items have been set out for display under cloths to respect the sacred tradition of the pieces, which are not for everyone’s eyes.
Another new addition is the MOA CAT. This system, setup on touch-screen iMacs, allows you to instantly look up pieces by region, collection, artist or style then locate them on the gallery floor.
As a part of the Museum’s participation in the 2010 Cultural Olympiad, the Border Zones: New Art Across Cultures exhibit will be running until September.
Border Zones features contemporary pieces from around the world including law poles from Australia, a sound installation, and floating boats that make their way from the Audain Gallery, through the museum, out the glass windows, and around the grounds as a part of the piece From the Yangtze to the Fraser.
A centrepiece of the museum is the Bill Reid sculpture The Raven and the First Men which lives in the Bill Reid Rotunda. I found out something new about the rotunda on my tour; turns out it was an old gun placement during World War Two (like a few others along hill above the beach in Pacific Spirit Park or Stanley Park). When Erickson designed the museum, he kept this in mind and built up around it. One of the museum’s most significant pieces now sits atop this wartime relic.
If you have the chance, I highly recommend stopping by the MOA anytime year-round although the Border Zones exhibit is pretty remarkable. The Museum of Anthropology is open daily from 10:00am – 5:00pm (and until 9:00pm on Tuesdays). Admission is $14 for adults, $12 for students, $35 for families and there is a Tuesday evening flat rate of $7.
I have just checked into the Northern Voice conference at the Life Sciences Centre at UBC. Each year this blogging conference (probably the largest of its kind in Canada) features workshops and sessions about personal blogging and social media topics.
I have been attending for the last four years and each time I cover the event in a different way. I probably won’t be liveblogging all of the sessions I attend however here are a few that I am looking forward to today:
Keynote Bryan Alexander
Online Publishing & The Law with Dan Burnett
Copyright & Online Expression with Martha Rans & Hart Snider
OMGWTF The World of Chatroulette with Dean Hudson
… and many more (I’ll update the list for Saturday too)
I’ll be updating this post throughout the day and will pull in the Twitter feed from the conference using the tag #nv10.
Update Northern Voice is known for its conference t-shirts that read, “Bloggable”. Today we have the youngest attendee ever (and probably the cutest) sporting his own conference tee.
Update After a welcome from Darren Barefoot and sponsor shout outs from Julie Szabo we’re onto the keynote by Bryan Alexander. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
This afternoon City Council passed a motion to support Fair Trade, making Vancouver the first major city in Canada to achieve “Fair Trade Town” status.
The application process has taken about a year however this afternoon’s vote sealed the deal. From a press release issued today, “The city’s endorsement of the application was the last step required by TransFair Canada to bestow Trade Town status on Vancouver. This award officially recognizes two decades of work by local and international Fair Trade supporters, as well as a civic ethical purchasing policy that was enacted in 2005.”
Mayor Gregor Robertson said, “We want to be the greenest city in the world, and a part of that is ensuring that our goods and services are produced and delivered in a responsible way.”
This Saturday May 8th, World Fair Trade Day is being celebrated at the Ten Thousand Villages store on Granville Island (1660 Duranleau Street).
Participate in a drumming circle, thrill to African Dancing with Jackie Essombe and friends and hear about Vancouver’s bid to become the first major city in Canada to gain “Fair Trade Town” status. Have a slice of Fair Trade birthday cake made by students from the Pacific Institute for Culinary Arts, to be served in the store at 2:00pm along with Fair Trade coffee.
In honor of this recent achievement there will be a ceremony from 1:00pm – 2:00pm outside the store with speeches from City Councilors and representative of the Fair Trade Movement. World Fair Trade Day events will then continue at the Improv Centre from 2:30pm until 4:00pm.
Fair Trade is an alternative and ethical way of doing business with the developing world. Unlike conventional trade which seeks to obtain the lowest possible prices for imported products – no matter what this means for the quality of life of farmers and producers – Fair Trade seeks to ensure that farmers are able to live a life of dignity.
You can read more on FairTradeVancouver.ca, the website of a non-profit group that hosts meetups and provides information about where to buy Fair Trade products in Vancouver. They are also on Twitter @Fair_Trade_Van.
The 2010 Miss World Canada Pageant has been hosting events in Vancouver all week that will culminate in the crowning in a ceremony tomorrow night.
When Friday, May 7th, 2010 6:00pm (silent auction starts) 7:00pm (showtime)
Where Chandos Pattison Theatre in Surrey (10268 – 168 Street)
Tickets for the crowning gala are still available for $25 and proceeds from the silent auction will benefit Variety – The Children’s Charity.
For fun, you can view an article in The Province that interviewed some of this year’s contestants regarding their hockey predictions and allegiances.
The winner of Miss World Canada 2010 will receive an all-expense paid trip to travel abroad for five weeks and compete in the Miss World pageant in Vietnam this November. She will also receive scholarships and opportunities to work with and become a spokesperson for Variety.
The City of Vancouver is releasing several of its 2010 Olympic and Paralympic street banners to local non-profits who wish to use them for fundraising.
Photo credit:
rwill on Flickr
Non-profit organizations are encouraged to fill out applications for use of the banners to propose how they would use them for fundraising. The city is specifically looking for campaigns that would benefit the Downtown Eastside, Downtown South and Mount Pleasant.
You can view a PDF of the banners and download the PDF application form on the City’s site. Deadline for submissions is May 19th, 2010.
