2023

Refuge Canada

October 12, 2023 - February 4, 2024

Through images, soundscapes, first person accounts and artifacts, this powerful exhibition begins “no one wants to be a refugee, anyone could become a refugee.” Moving through major waves of arrival from Second World War era up to present day, Refuge Canada does not shy away from opportunities to portray the darker chapters of history. Hopeful stories of optimism and success are balanced by moving accounts of shattered lives, fear, and examples of Canada’s mixed record in welcoming refugees. 

Crawl inside a UNHCR tent or find room in an inflatable boat similar to those used by refugees fleeing from Turkey to Greece. Look out a plane window as the shores of Canada approach and listen to refugees tell their stories throughout the exhibit. Refuge Canada will challenge and inspire as it brings visitors on a journey from darkness to hope, always calling into question preconceptions about what it means to be a refugee.

Refuge Canada is a travelling exhibition created by the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

GHETTO

How Can We Live Together?

August 23, 2023 - January 1, 2024

Henriquez Partners Architects in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and European Cultural Centre first displayed GHETTO at the European Cultural Centre’s 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, themed “How will we live together?”. The exhibition travelled to the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2022 and is showing at the Museum of Vancouver August 23 to November 12, 2023.

GHETTO is a theoretical rezoning project that proposes the development of housing for refugees through the transfer of wealth created by the sale of timeshare condominiums to American tourists in Venice, and now Vancouver. The exhibition considers the role of the architect in creating spaces for inclusion and questions the architect’s role as a “cordial convener and a custodian of the spatial contract.” This theoretical project aims to continue the conversation in Vancouver, a city with similar challenges to Venice including issues of housing unaffordability, economic dependence on tourism, an influx of immigrants and the displacement of residents.

The exhibition has been honoured with awards from the European Cultural Centre, Architecture MasterPrize, Architizer A+ and Azure Magazine.

Dressed for History: Why Costume Collections Matter

WOMEN’S FASHION 1750–2000

March 16, 2023 - January 1, 2024

Clothing is the most personal of artefacts. It reveals so much about who we are, what we do and what we value. Clothing conveys information about occupation, social and economic status, gender and cultural identity and political and religious affiliation. 

Clothing not only expresses aspects of a wearer’s identity, it also reveals much about the larger context of production. As products of available raw materials, textile technologies, designs and styles, what we wear connects us to local and global stories of resource extraction, trade, labour and technology.  

Four remarkable local collectors have recognized the importance of preserving costumes to document the past and inspire our present and future. Ivan Sayers, Claus Jahnke, Melanie Talkington and the members of the BC Society for the Museum of Original Costume (SMOC) are fashion historians with significant collections that feature some of the rarest garments and fabrics in the world. 

January 26, 2023 - April 24, 2023

This micro-exhibition, Spirit Journeys: Walking with Resilience, Wellbeing and Respect, provides an opportunity for the YVR Art Foundation (YVRAF) 2021 Emerging and Mid-Career Artist Scholarship recipients to exhibit their artworks. Through the YVR Art Foundation Scholarship Program these artists continued their studies or worked with mentors to expand their personal knowledge of Indigenous art and design. The results are breathtaking and inspiring. MOV is honored to showcase the work of these ten talented artists, and we raise our hands in respect and appreciation for those who have inspired and taught them.

2022

November 17, 2022 - July 23, 2023

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! 

In Reflection Across the Shore

August 5, 2022 - November 13, 2022

Nature is a source of guidance and comfort in the ongoing process of assessing our value and importance in society. This relationship was especially heightened for some during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Reflection Across the Shore is the result of two artists’ documentation and observations during this time. Here, Edward Fu-Chen Juan and Wang Yu-Wen share the emergence of their thoughts on what to keep and what to leave behind in a changing world.

This micro-exhibition is presented with the Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles and is in collaboration with Reflect Festival by the Asian-Canadian Special Events Association.

2021

Skate for Change

October 1, 2021 - November 25, 2022

This micro-exhibition is named after an event that happened last Emancipation Day, Indigenous People’s Day, and Go Skateboarding Day weekend (June 19th to 21st). Nations Skate Youth, Takeover Skateboarding, and I Dream Library (closed) came together to create a safe space for LGBTQIA2S and BIPOC youth at Trout Lake. We thought it was a great name for a space that will be used for workshops in the upcoming year.

October 1, 2021 - October 2, 2022

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.

Real-time Collecting: Documenting and Remembering COVID-19

August 5, 2021 - August 30, 2022

This micro-exhibition features over 20 objects recently acquired for the permanent collection at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV). These acquisitions represent a wide range of COVID-19 moments and lived experiences. “COVID collecting” will continue for many years, but “rapid-response collecting” is needed now to preserve objects that may be difficult to locate once the pandemic is over. These objects, small and large, mundane and exceptional, will help us reflect on, make sense of and hopefully learn from this public health crisis that has rocked our world.

September 15, 2021 - November 14, 2021

This micro-exhibition, Indigeneity Rising: Celebrating Our People, Our Stories, and Our Tradition, provides an opportunity for the 2020 YVR Art Foundation (YVRAF) scholarship recipients to exhibit their artworks. Each year, since 2005, recipients have exhibited their artworks at a celebratory event held at the Vancouver International Airport. This is the second year that MOV has hosted this collaborative exhibition.

2020

A Seat at the Table

Museum of Vancouver Location

November 19, 2020 - April 2, 2023

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.

c̓əc̓əwitəl̕ | helping each other | ch’áwatway

September 15, 2020 - June 15, 2021

This micro-exhibition in the Museum of Vancouver studio called c̓əc̓əwitəl̕ | helping each other | ch’áwatway, provides an opportunity for the 2019 YVR Art Foundation scholarship recipients to exhibit their final works. This exhibition explores themes of resilience, memory and identity, through reconnection with ancestral knowledge and lands. The title, written in both hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh snichim, shows our respect for the teachings of our host communities – the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations while acknowledging that this exhibition is taking place within their shared traditional territories.

Acts of Resistance

February 5, 2020 - January 31, 2021

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.

Swaysən, Will George, a Tsleil-Waututh grassroots leader not only designed one of the featured banners, but also rappelled from the Second Narrows bridge as part of the seven-person aerial blockade to prevent an oil tanker from leaving terminal. In this exhibition, Will George will share his firsthand experience as a member of the aerial blockade in a video created in collaboration with multi-media artist Ronnie Dean Harris, whose artwork also flew in the path of tanker traffic.

2019

Dragon Jars & Lotus Bowls

May 15, 2019 - August 19, 2019

The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) is excited to present, with the Canadian Society for Asian Arts (CSAA), Dragon Jars and Lotus Bowls: Asian Ceramics from the Jean Mackay Fahrni Collection. This MOV-CSAA collaboration features Asian ceramics from the Jean MacKay Fahrni collection, generously donated to the Museum in 1992 by the Hongkong Bank of Canada and contains many pieces that have not been publicly displayed. The exhibition also marks and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Society for Asian Arts, and Mrs. Jean Mackay Fahrni’s 100th birthday - remarkable achievements both.

The Strata of Many Truths

April 5, 2019 - April 29, 2019

To offer context and a unique, local counterpoint to the exhibition There is Truth Here, MOV has partnered with Capture Photography Festival to present The Strata of Many Truths. Semiahmoo artist Roxanne Charles has drawn inspiration from archival photographs of Indigenous children from the St. Mary’s Indian Residential School, in Mission, BC, to create an art installation in conversation with the exhibit There Is Truth Here: Creativity and Resilience in Children’s Art from Indian Residential and Indian Day Schools in the MOV studio.

There is Truth Here: Creativity and Resilience in Children’s Art from Indian Residential and Day Schools

April 5, 2019 - January 5, 2020

There is Truth Here focuses on rare surviving artworks created by children who attended the Inkameep Day School (Okanagan), St Michael’s Indian Residential School (Alert Bay); the Alberni Indian Residential School (Vancouver Island) and Mackay Indian Residential School (Manitoba). The focus of the exhibition is not on the schools themselves, but upon witnessing the experiences of the survivors as conveyed through their childhood artworks – for some the only surviving material from their childhoods.

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.

2018

In/Flux: Art of Korean Diaspora

September 28, 2018 - January 27, 2019

MOV and The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea are proud to present In/Flux: Art of Korean Diaspora. This exhibition features selected works of Jin-me Yoon, Junghong Kim, and Jin Hwa Kim, artists originally from the Republic of Korea now based in the Vancouver area. Over the course of four months, MOV’s curatorial team visited their homes and studios to witness how they use traditions old and new, inherited and adopted, to parse how Vancouver influences both their identity and work.

June 28, 2018 - January 12, 2020

The Museum of Vancouver and Nature Vancouver proudly present the illuminating exhibition, Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives. 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.

March 16, 2018 - August 2, 2021

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.

2017

City on Edge: A Century of Vancouver Activism

September 28, 2017 - February 19, 2018

Visually stunning, City on Edge: A Century of Vancouver Activism is a photo-based exhibition exploring how protest demonstrations have shaped Vancouver’s identity.

The exhibition is a unique opportunity to access rarely seen images capturing epic moments of the City of Vancouver’s protest history from the Vancouver Sun and The Province newspapers’ photo collection. These photographs are exceptional historical records of intense and transformative moments in the lives of Vancouverites.

The Vienna Model: Housing for the Twenty-First-Century City

May 17, 2017 - July 16, 2017

The Vienna Model: Housing for the Twenty-First-Century City shines the spotlight on sixty prototypical projects from the last hundred years, with a special focus on the public art that has complemented the city’s housing since the First Republic. To expand this architectural and urban discussion, the curators invited Vancouver and Vienna based artists and cultural researchers Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber to look at these communal spaces and concepts and speculate on how they resonate within artistic and cultural practices. Their selection of art projects and public works will accompany, reflect upon, and contextualize the selected examples and also shape the format of the exhibition and publication.

The 81lb Challenge - VV by EB

March 30, 2017 - April 17, 2017

The 81lb Challenge presented by Value Village is a fashion collection created from a year's worth of discarded clothing.

“The average North American discards 81 pounds of textiles per year, ranking fashion as the second most-polluting industry next only to oil,” shared Myriam Laroche, founder and president of Eco Fashion Week.

For this year's event, Evan Biddell - winner of Project Runway Canada – transformed second-hand clothing from Value Village thrift stores into gorgeous garments.

2016

Vancouver in the Seventies

October 13, 2016 - July 16, 2017

The exhibition featured 400 photographic gems from the Vancouver Sun newspaper collection, as well as several 1970s artefacts from the Museum’s collection. These stunning shots illustrated an intense period of self-discovery and growing up for Vancouver. They captured the beauty of everyday events and chronicle the drama of pivotal moments that continue to shape the city.

All Together Now: Vancouver Collectors and Their Worlds

June 23, 2016 - March 19, 2017

All Together Now: Vancouver Collectors and Their Worlds featured 20 beautiful, rare, and unconventional collections, with something for everyone including corsets, prosthetics, pinball machines, taxidermy, toys, and much more. In this exhibition both collector and collected were objects of study, interaction, and delight.

Your Future Home: Creating the New Vancouver

January 21, 2016 - May 15, 2016

Co-presenters Museum of Vancouver and Vancouver Urbanarium explored challenges and solutions relating to citizens’ greatest concerns. Your Future Home invited people to discover surprising facts about the city and imagine what Vancouver might become. This major exhibition engaged visitors with the bold visual language and lingo of real estate advertising as it presented the visions of talented Vancouver designers about how we might design the cityscapes of the future.

2015

Stefan Sagmeister: The Happy Show

April 23, 2015 - September 7, 2015

One of the largest exhibitions in MOV’s 120-year history, this astonishing experience transcended the boundary between art and design. It took over museum galleries and inbetween, including the Museum’s bathrooms, in order to ask: what makes us happy? Sagmeister, who has documented his struggles with alcohol and drugs, weight gain, and depression, first conceptualized The Happy Show in an attempt to define and control his own happiness during a client-free sabbatical—a year-long break he takes every seven years to creatively recharge.

Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15

October 8, 2015 - December 13, 2015

This exhibition marked the 15th anniversary of the founding of Canada’s newest territory, Nunavut, in 1999, and its rapid rise. Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15 surveys a century of arctic architecture, an urbanizing present, and a projected near future of adaptive architecture in Nunavut. Each of these components documents architectural history in this remarkable but relatively little known region of Canada, describes the contemporary realities of life in its communities, and examines an adapting role for architecture moving forward.

#makesmehappy 

April 23, 2015 - December 13, 2015

#makesmehappy inspired people to boost their happiness with simple acts. The Museum of Vancouver invited ten Vancouverites to enter the vaults and each select an object that sparked memories of happiness and that will encourage positive feelings in everyone. Participants included charitable online marketplace founder John Bromley, CBC news host Andrew Chang, writer Amber Dawn, happiness expert Elizabeth Dunn, songwriter Veda Hille, hip hop artist Prevail, artist Henry Tsang, Squamish educator Deborah Jacobs, curator Viviane Gosselin, and museum administrator Sarah Kamal.

Lively Objects

August 16, 2015 - October 12, 2015

Lively Objects brings together artworks that vibrate with mechanical, digital, and magical forces. Installations hidden throughout the Museum’s history galleries awaken our fascination with objects that come to life. The artworks in Lively Objects take a variety of forms—gloves, tables, figurines, machines and projected images. Visitors can hunt for them or drift through the galleries and take their chances. Some works hide in plain sight, speaking only to those who stop to listen. Others deliberately pull focus and make a ruckus. 

Robson Redux Design Exhibition

February 28, 2015 - March 15, 2015

VIVA Vancouver and the Museum of Vancouver have partnered to present an exhibition of all of the design entries received as part of Robson Redux 2015. Come see more than 80 submissions from local and international teams; some entries came from as far away as Hong Kong, New York, Seoul, and Vienna.

Artware - Northwest Coast Designs & Everyday Objects

October 29, 2014 - January 11, 2015

Artware is a micro exhibition (in our studio space) that showcases Aboriginal-themed commercial products developed by Vancouver- based artists and companies. The objects selected will highlight shifts in relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples, as illustrated in the design of the objects themselves and in the exchanges and practices to which they give rise.

From Rationing to Ravishing

September 18, 2014 - March 8, 2015

From the collections of guest curators Ivan Sayers and Claus Jahnke̶—the team that created Art Deco Chic—and the vaults of the Museum of Vancouver, From Rationing to Ravishing presented more than 80 garments. Highlights included: wartime wedding dresses, Boeing Vancouver overalls, cocktail dresses, and fashions designed by renowned European couturiers, including Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and Elsa Schiaparelli. This exhibition demonstrated how historical events shape our daily lives and have lasting impacts.  It included features that engaged families, including an activity station for kids and adults alike, and the opportunity to virtually try on period garments.

Unmoored: Vancouver's Voyage of the Komagata Maru

May 21, 2014 - September 14, 2014

*Please note, this is a one-wall, mini-exhibition.

In 1914 Vancouver was a burgeoning, multicultural port city and a hub for migrants searching for new opportunities. On the cusp of the Great War, Vancouver waged its own internal battle to determine what type of city it wanted to be. A flashpoint was the arrival of the Komagata Maru – a steamship carrying 376 British Indian passengers who were denied entry into Canada. This modest-sized exhibition – guest curated by Naveen Girn – examines the enduring impact that this dramatic event had on Vancouver. Stories, rare artefacts, images and documents provide new insights into how national policies and racial bias shaped the lives of Komagata Maru passengers and South Asian immigrants. Bringing fresh perspectives and meanings to this significant moment of Vancouver’s history provide opportunities for intercultural dialogue and for re-imagining the future of the city.

Rewilding Vancouver - Remember. Reconnect. Rewild.

February 27, 2014 - September 1, 2014

The Vancouver we know is more culturally attuned to and integrated with nature than any city of a comparable size on earth. Despite this, our city has dramatically transformed the natural environment. Museum of Vancouver with presenting sponsor Pacific Salmon Foundation, Rewilding Vancouver explores the city’s nature as it was, is, and could be.  

The first major exhibition in Canada to explore our relationship with nature through the lens of historical ecology, Rewilding Vancouver brings this new way of exploring the past to the forefront using Vancouver as the subject. The exhibition is comprised of taxidermy specimens, 3D models, soundscapes, videos and photo interventions that challenge our perception of what is natural to Vancouver. Visitors will discover a changing-of-the-guard when it comes to the region’s wildlife, with ravens, wolves and elk fading as crows, coyotes and black-tailed deer settled in. Rewilding Vancouver also challenges us to envision new streetscapes that feature unearthed fish-bearing streams long hidden below city streets. A life-sized creation of the now extinct Steller’s Sea Cow is one of many highlights of this exhibition.

Vancouver Imagined: The Way We Weren't

February 6, 2014 - May 11, 2014

The art of city building has always required many talents. Builders and architects are often remembered for their accomplished constructions, but architectural illustrators have frequently been overlooked. This collection of plans depicts architectural and urban projects that were proposed in Vancouver at different historical periods but never materialized. This MOV Studio exhibition shares 21 unrealized plans and drawings by architects, city planners, and engineers including Harland Bartholomew, Arthur Erickson, I.M Pei, Andrew Malczewski, and others, from 1910-2000.

Guest Curator: Jason Vanderhill, creator of the Illustrated Vancouver blog

Foncie's Fotos

June 6, 2013 - May 4, 2014

Foncie Pulice was the last man standing from Vancouver’s great era of post-war street photography. Creator of about 15 million images over his lifetime, Foncie captured Vancouverites in action as they strode the city streets. His photographs trigger vivid memories for long-time residents who recall the particular day, the hour, their companions, the circumstances.

Play House: The architecture of Daniel Evan White

October 17, 2013 - March 23, 2014

Daniel Evan White knew exactly how to play with houses. The modest Vancouver architect drove innovation along the west coast from 1960 to 2012, creating homes that his clients claim were life changing. Discover his remarkable work in this first retrospective of his career.

Play House ventures through Daniel Evan White’s mind, hands, and eyes to explore the creative process that transforms the dream home from desire into reality. The exhibition includes stories from clients and contractors, a replica of the Máté House built to 1:4 scale, projections, smaller models, 3D computer models, and an area where visitors can get hands on with some of Dan’s favourite geometric shapes.

An Evolutionary Look into Vancouver Street Photography

October 1, 2013 - January 26, 2014

Four contemporary Vancouver photographers examine and respond to Foncie Pulice and his body of work in this photographic exhibition, done in collaboration with Vancouver’s Capture Photography Festival. Artists include Lincoln Clarkes, Brian Howell, Angela Fama, and John Goldsmith.

Joe Average - Photographic Exhibition

January 16, 2013 - September 22, 2013

Joe Average has delighted Vancouverites and the world with his bold, whimsical and exuberant paintings and prints since the 1980s; his art living in public squares, markets, bridges, and street banners. More recently Joe turned to photography proposing new encounters with familiar Vancouver scenes and reminding us that nature and humans constantly interact with each other in the city.  Thirteen photographic images by Joe Average will be on display in the MOV Studio from January 16 to June 9 2013.

Sex Talk in the City

February 14, 2013 - September 2, 2013

Sex Talk in the City is a multifaceted exhibition that teases out how people in Vancouver learn about sexuality, define pleasure, and respond to particular politics. Sex Talk in the City addresses issues of sexual expression, diversity, politics, and education in a fun, approachable, and thought-provoking manner. Sex isn’t only biological, it’s cultural.

Visitors can expect to gain context on the materials and stories they are exposed to every day - from online dating to safe sex ads to the pride parade. You're sure to leave recalling your own "birds and bees" talk with your parents and other such stories.

Object(ing): The Art/Design of Tobias Wong

September 20, 2012 - February 24, 2013

The MOV is pleased to present the first time solo exhibition of internationally acclaimed Vancouver-born artist Tobias Wong. Wong’s work defied categorization, as he engaged with a range of art processes from installations, performances, and furniture making to product and fashion design.

He was cheeky, playful, witty, and clever. He appropriated, manipulated, manufactured, mass-produced, and re-issued objects, pouring new meanings into them. Like many pioneers, his art both seduced and upset.

You'll want to see first hand why Wong is considered a forerunner of conceptual design.

Untold Stories: History of Immigrants in Vancouver

October 18, 2012 - January 6, 2013

This exhibition brings to life -- through interviews and portraits, and personal stories of immigration -- the role that Immigrant Service Society of BC (ISSofBC) has played in the last 40 years supporting newcomers to Vancouver as they build new lives in Canada. The exhibit is a partnership project with ISSofBC

Exhibit-related programming includes: a no-fee, moderated public dialogue; teaching resources for ELSA and Vancouver School Board students; and a “Share Your Story” section on the ISSofBC website where immigrants can share their stories.

Reading the Riot Boards

June 15, 2012 - 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.

Art Deco Chic: Extravagant glamour between the wars

March 8, 2012 - September 23, 2012

The design style known as art deco began in Paris in the 1920s and quickly gained worldwide popularity. In Art Deco Chic visitors to the MOV can take in 66 gorgeous garments from the era.

Art Deco was a distinct departure from previous design styles, drawing inspiration from geometric shapes to evoke elegance and modernity. It was also influenced by an increased ability to travel world wide – bringing inspiration not only from modernism, but from faraway places such as Russia, Egypt, and Mexico.

Working World: Diversity and Employment

April 4, 2012 - May 30, 2012

Located downstairs, in the Community Display Area (between the elevators and the Learning Lab)

SPARC BC and the Museum of Vancouver have partnered to present an exhibit of local photography that examines the intersection of cultural diversity and employment in Metro Vancouver. Photographers were invited to submit a photo and write-up for the opportunity to present a series of photographic works at the Museum of Vancouver’s community display area. The results are in and the photos are up!

Maraya Project: The Seawalls of Vancouver and Dubai

February 29, 2012 - May 20, 2012

Maraya is an art project that looks at the relationship between urban waterfronts in Vancouver and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Through photography, video, public art, public programmes and an interactive online platform, new forms of urban living pioneered in both countries are explored, showing how we are connected in ways that are both familiar and surprising. Maraya — from the Arabic m’raya for “mirror” or “reflection” — connects the glass and steel residential towers that line the seawall walkways of Emaar’s Dubai Marina and Concord Pacific Place along False Creek, looking at these two cities that are leaders of 21st century urbanism.

2011

Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver

October 13, 2011 - June 29, 2022

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.

Vancouver 2010 Legacy Collection: A Preview

November 16, 2011 - February 15, 2012

Remember the moments, in sunny February 2010, when the city came together to celebrate and engage in friendly competition with the world in this small sample of the almost 2,000 artifacts that make up the Vancouver 2010 Legacy Collection.

Visitors will enjoy reminiscing over the mascots, the Torch Relay, the Four Host First Nations, and more.

Bhangra.me: Vancouver's Bhangra Story

May 5, 2011 - January 1, 2012

Bhangra.me: Vancouver’s Bhangra Story, is an interactive exhibition that chronicles Bhangra music, dance and politics in Vancouver. From dance teams in the 70s, to international DJs in 2011, this exhibit features Vancouver’s unique Bhangra story. Play instruments, listen to local DJ-curated playlists, read about Bhangra’s connection to social protest, and dance in the Performance Lounge.

Co-produced by Museum of Vancouver and Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society, Bhangra.me has been extended to run until January 1, 2012. The first museum exhibition of its kind of Canada, Bhangra.me attempts to interpret and understand what Bhangra means to people in Vancouver. Bhangra – and by extension the greater story of South Asians in Vancouver - is deeply intertwined with Vancouver’s own story.

Migrating Landscapes

November 3, 2011 - November 27, 2011

Architectural design competition display of models from emerging architects.

Take in the creativity of emerging architects as the MOV plays host to an exhibit of the Migrating Landscapes Competition. Architectural models are created by young Canadians to reflect on how cultural memory plays a role in our way of thinking about space and home. Homes and dwellings will be designed to fit a wooden landscape created by the Migrating Landscapes Organization, and their very structure will offer a unique view into Canada’s past, present, and future.

Chosen Family Portraits

August 3, 2011 -  November 6, 2011

There are the families we are born with and there are the families that we choose. 

The term “chosen family” refers to the formation of non-biological families; many lesbian, gay, transgender and queer people, especially those with problematic relationships with their birth families, have friends and often lovers they consider part of their chosen family.

During August 2010, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival conducted a community-based art project called, Chosen Family Portraits. This photography and oral history project invited local queer and allied community to model with their chosen family and share their stories.

SweaterLodge Unlatched

January 14, 2011 - May 1, 2011

Suspended in the Museum of Vancouver, a mammoth polarfleece sweater becomes a soft lodge. Come experience an exhibit that's uniquely Vancouver.

SweaterLodge is an architectural installation consisting of a giant orange polarfleece sweater. It measures 26.5 meters (87 feet) cuff to cuff and is made of Polartec 200 fleece made of recycled two-litre plastic pop bottles. 3,150 two-litre pop bottles went into making all the polarfleece used throughout the entire exhibit, approximately 2,560 into the sweater fleece alone.

2010

Home Grown: Local Sustainable Food

August 26, 2010 - January 2, 2011

Home Grown is a photographic exploration of local food production and sustainable farming in Vancouver and the surrounding region, presented by MOV and FarmFolkCityFolk.

In photo-journalistic style, 39 stunning images by photographer, Brian Harris, contain a call-to-action for individuals and communities to reclaim control of local food systems and to think carefully about the ethics of food consumption decisions that are made everyday.

Accompanying programs including; workshops, screening, talks, and tours will give a deeper understanding and appreciation of local food production issues as well as the inspiration and skills to start a backyard or community garden.

Fox, Fluevog & Friends

May 14, 2010 - October 3, 2010

The story behind the shoes.

Meet John Fluevog, Peter Fox and Ken Rice: friends, collaborators, trend-spotters, businessmen, and artists. This fashion retrospective explores the story behind their footwear companies, from their early days making the scene in 1970s Gastown to acclaim and powerful brand loyalty on an international scale.

Approximately 150 shoes dating from 1968 to 2000 are featured, complemented by photographs, catalogues, newspaper articles, sketches and customer comments.

Tracing Night by Ed Pien

February 4, 2010 - April 11, 2010

Visual artist Ed Pien, born in Taiwan and based in Toronto, has exhibited nationally and internationally for 20 years.

His Tracing Night is a large maze-like installation that combines drawing, video and sound to recreate the phenomenon of night and darkness. It invites viewers to walk around and through its evocative environments.

Presented with Cultural Olympiad Vancouver 2010.

Art of Craft

January 14, 2010 - April 11, 2010

Presented with Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.

Celebrate the exuberance, inventiveness and refinement of fine craft at this exhibition of work from Canada and the Republic of Korea.

Art of Craft showcases 173 spectacular fine craft works in three parts.

Ravishing Beasts

October 22, 2009 - February 28, 2010

Displaying the Museum of Vancouver’s extensive collection of taxidermy for the first time in decades, Ravishing Beasts investigates the provocative and strangely alluring world of taxidermy.

Whether a hoarding of exotic curiosities, a scientific archive, a hunting trophy, or a stuffed pet, taxidermy always exposes longings to capture animals and tell stories about their significance within human lives.

Working Wood

November 12, 2009 - February 7, 2010

WORKING WOOD presents the work of an emerging group of woodworkers. Though each piece offers a distinct viewpoint, there is a common emphasis on sustainable materials and wood products, and simple forms that highlight the qualities of the wood itself.

Home Phone

October 9, 2009 - October 25, 2009

A response to the retreat of telephone booths from the urban landscape, and their continued use by the homeless as a vital means of communication, Home Phone reimagines the telephone booth as temporary shelter.

Ian Wallace, My Heroes in the Streets

May 29, 2009 - September 20, 2009

My Heroes in the Street, Studies for Pictures on Canvas, is a suite of 10 compelling works by one of the pioneering forces behind Vancouver's emblematic brand of photo-conceptualism.

Velo-City: Vancouver & the Bicycle Revolution

June 4, 2009 - September 7, 2009

This 7500 square foot exhibit about contemporary and future cycling in Vancouver, designed and curated by Toby Barratt, Nik Rust, and Pamela Goddard from Propellor Design, challenges people to think differently about an everyday object. It redefines the bicycle as a vehicle for artistic self-expression, a provocative symbol of counter-culture and as a tool for social change.

The Unnatural History of Stanley Park

September 10, 2008 - February 15, 2019

Presented in partnership with the Vancouver Park Board, in English and Chinese, the exhibit shed light on puzzling blind spots in our romance with this national treasure as we interfered with, altered, and rearranged Stanley Park's forests, creatures and people to make nature more 'natural'.

Curator Joan Seidl, exhibit design Sholto Scruton, graphic design 10Four Design, lighting and interactive design Douglas Welch Design

2008

Movers and Shapers

April 23, 2008 - June 22, 2008

They are all part of Movers and Shapers, an exhibit showcasing Vancouver’s hippest young designers in architecture, fashion, graphic, product, furniture, interior and interactive design. It was presented by the Vancouver Museum in collaboration with the brand and design company, Cause + Affect.

Contemporary Craft in BC: Excellence within Diversity

February 7, 2008 - April 6, 2008

The exhibition celebrated and explored British Columbia’s diverse and internationally recognized craft artists. A professional jury selected over 90 artists and works in every medium.