Museum of Anthropology at UBC
Encyclopedia
The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia
(UBC) campus in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
is renowned for its displays of world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations
. As well as being a major tourist destination, MOA is also a teaching museum, used in a number of courses at UBC, and a research museum. The MOA holds 36,000 ethnographic objects, as well as 535,000 archaeological objects in its building alone.
, which are not officially part of the City of Vancouver
.
collection were put on display in the basement of the Main Library
. Dr. Harry Hawthorn served as the first director of the new museum, with his wife, Dr. Audrey Hawthorn, serving as its first curator.
In 1971, the museum received funds from the Government of Canada and UBC to begin construction of a new building. In 1976, the new building, designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson
, opened under new director Michael Ames, who served from 1974 to 1997. Walter
and Marianne Koerner's 1975 donation of their extensive collection of Northwest Coast First Nations
art to the museum formed a large part of the new building's contents.
In 1997, Dr. Ruth Phillips became museum director. In 2002, Dr. Michael Ames returned as acting director. Dr. Anthony Shelton became director in 2004.
On January 23, 2010, MOA celebrated the completion of its multi-year, multi-million dollar renovation and expansion project, "A Partnership of Peoples".
The new facilities have been developed by UBC Properties Trust and designed by Arthur Erickson and Stantec Architecture. The project comprises several complementary components:
The Museum is affiliated with CHIN
, CMA
, and Virtual Museum of Canada
.
's building was inspired by the post-and-beam architecture of northern Northwest Coast First Nations
people. Like much of Erickson's work, the building is made primarily out of concrete
. In September 2010, a reflecting pool was added to the front of the Museum, funded by Yosef Wosk, OBC. Arthur Erickson and landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander
originally intended the pool to be opened as part of the new Museum of Anthropology in 1976; now, nearly thirty-five years later, their original vision for MOA has been fulfilled. Pools had been installed temporarily only three times in MOA’s history: for a movie shoot in 1993
, for the APEC leaders’ summit in 1997
, and to celebrate Arthur Erickson’s 80th birthday in June 2004.
The most iconic object in the Museum is probably the yellow cedar sculpture The Raven and the First Men by Bill Reid
, which is depicted on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill
.
Other notable Bill Reid
works include his Bear and Wasco (Sea Wolf) sculptures, some of his gold
jewellery
, and a prototype of the Haida dugout canoe
he carved for Expo 86
.
The Museum contains several large Musqueam artifacts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as many contemporary works commissioned from Musqueam artists such as Susan Point, Joe Becker, and Robyn and Debra Sparrow.
The Museum's Great Hall
contains many fragments of totem poles from Haida and other First Nations villages along British Columbia's coast.
The Museum has an extensive collection from the South Pacific
.
There are about 6000 textiles in the collection; about half of these come from Asia. Of particular note are the Cantonese Opera costumes that are considered some of the world's finest. There are excellent holdings from the Northwest Coast, Oceania, Africa, and South America.
The MOA Archive contains approximately 90,000 photographs that cover a wide range of cultures, ethnographic subjects and historical events. The collection dates from the 1890s and is an important resource for researchers, writers and communities.
There are approximately 2800 objects in the African collection. The earlier collections came to MOA via missionaries, travelers, and ex-colonial officers. The collection includes masks, Yoruba thorn carvings, over 100 Makonde figures from Tanzania, approximately 100 Asante gold weights, weaponry from South Africa and about 100 mortuary objects from Egypt.
About 40% of MOA's collection is from Asia. The Chinese collections include between 1000 and 1500 pieces of Chinese ceramics, Chinese calligraphy, and paintings (with four recently identified masterpieces from the collection of Ho Ping-ti). In addition, there is a large collection of Japanese prints, Buddhist art, Hindu art (including Gandhara sculpture), textiles and clothing, and Indian calendar prints. Other collections include 2300 Chinese coins and amulets, 200 Sichuan blue thread embroideries dating to circa 1900, rare Tibetan robes, and masks from Noe (Japan), Sunni and Kolam (Sri Lanka), and Pongsan and Yangju (Korea).
The Haida houses outside the Museum were built under the direction of Bill Reid, who carved, along with Douglas Cranmer, many of the totem poles surrounding them. The original Reid/Cranmer totem pole mounted on the front of the big house was taken inside in 2000 due to deterioration and replaced with the new "Respect to Bill Reid Pole" by Haida artist Jim Hart.
Budgeted at $55.5 million, the Renewal Project received $34.4 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund ($17.2 million each), plus from The University of British Columbia, UBC Faculty of Arts, and the Museum itself. Recently, MOA received a major gift of $5.5 million from the Koerner Foundation, Toronto, towards the Project. Approximately $5 million remains to be funded through public sector donations to ensure the project's overall success.
s, and cultural artifacts. Although the museum's focus is on the First Nations of the Northwest Coast, the collection of 36,000 ethnological objects includes objects from all continents. These are mostly located in the Multiversity Galleries, where objects that would normally be stored behind the scenes are made accessible to the public. The collections include contemporary
works as well as historical objects. In addition to the ethnographic collections, MOA houses an archaeological collection of approximately 535,000 pieces. These are managed by UBC's Laboratory of Archaeology. The Museum also has a small wing dedicated primarily to European ceramic art works collected by the late Walter Koerner
. The Koerner Ceramics Gallery, which opened in 1990, contains over 600 European ceramics collected by Koerner, which he donated to the Museum in 1987.
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
(UBC) campus in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is renowned for its displays of world arts and cultures, in particular works by First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
. As well as being a major tourist destination, MOA is also a teaching museum, used in a number of courses at UBC, and a research museum. The MOA holds 36,000 ethnographic objects, as well as 535,000 archaeological objects in its building alone.
Location
The Museum is located at 6393 Northwest Marine Drive, on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The Museum and UBC lie within the University Endowment LandsUniversity Endowment Lands
The University Endowment Lands is an unincorporated area that lies to the west of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada surrounding the University of British Columbia...
, which are not officially part of the City of Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
.
History
The museum was founded in 1947 when the items in UBC's ethnographicEthnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
collection were put on display in the basement of the Main Library
University of British Columbia Library
The University of British Columbia Library is the library system of the University of British Columbia . In 2004, UBC Library ranked 22nd among members of the Association of Research Libraries....
. Dr. Harry Hawthorn served as the first director of the new museum, with his wife, Dr. Audrey Hawthorn, serving as its first curator.
In 1971, the museum received funds from the Government of Canada and UBC to begin construction of a new building. In 1976, the new building, designed by renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson
Arthur Erickson
Arthur Charles Erickson, was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Asian languages at the University of British Columbia, and later earned a degree in architecture from McGill University.-Biography:...
, opened under new director Michael Ames, who served from 1974 to 1997. Walter
Walter Koerner
Walter Charles Koerner, CC, OBC was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.Born in Nový Hrozenkov, Moravia, he emigrated to Canada in 1938 after serving in World War I. His family had been involved in the forest industry and continued the tradition in Canada founding the Alaska Pine and...
and Marianne Koerner's 1975 donation of their extensive collection of Northwest Coast First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
art to the museum formed a large part of the new building's contents.
In 1997, Dr. Ruth Phillips became museum director. In 2002, Dr. Michael Ames returned as acting director. Dr. Anthony Shelton became director in 2004.
On January 23, 2010, MOA celebrated the completion of its multi-year, multi-million dollar renovation and expansion project, "A Partnership of Peoples".
The new facilities have been developed by UBC Properties Trust and designed by Arthur Erickson and Stantec Architecture. The project comprises several complementary components:
- A new wing, the MOA Centre for Cultural Research, with state-of-the-art collections storage, research rooms, archaeology labs, a community research suite, open plan offices, and Library and Information Centre
- The Multiversity Galleries, housing more than 10,000 objects from around the world
- The 5800 sq ft (538.8 m²) Audain Gallery for temporary exhibitions
- A new Café MOA and expanded shop
- The MOACAT digital catalogue system, making collections information (images, audio, and video) available throughout the galleries at the touch of a screen
- The RRN (Reciprocal Research Network), created in partnership with the Musqueam Indian Band, Stó:lō Nation, Stó:lō Tribal Council, and U'mista Cultural Society.
The Museum is affiliated with CHIN
Canadian Heritage Information Network
The Canadian Heritage Information Network is a Canadian government-supported organization that provides a networked interface to Canada's heritage, largely through the World Wide Web. It aims to give access to Canada's heritage for both Canadians and a worldwide audience, by supporting the...
, CMA
Canadian Museums Association
The Canadian Museums Association is a national organization for the promotion of museums in Canada.The Canadian Museums Association is the national organization for the advancement of the Canadian museum sector, representing Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. The...
, and Virtual Museum of Canada
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Virtual Museum of Canada is Canada's national virtual museum. With a directory of over 3,000 Canadian heritage institutions and a database of over 600 virtual exhibits, the VMC brings together Canada's museums regardless of size or geographical location.The VMC includes virtual exhibits,...
.
The building
Arthur EricksonArthur Erickson
Arthur Charles Erickson, was a Canadian architect and urban planner. He studied Asian languages at the University of British Columbia, and later earned a degree in architecture from McGill University.-Biography:...
's building was inspired by the post-and-beam architecture of northern Northwest Coast First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people. Like much of Erickson's work, the building is made primarily out of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
. In September 2010, a reflecting pool was added to the front of the Museum, funded by Yosef Wosk, OBC. Arthur Erickson and landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander
Cornelia Oberlander
Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, OC is a Canadian landscape architect based in Vancouver, British Columbia. During her career she has contributed to the designs of many high-profile buildings in both Canada and the United States, including the Robson Square and Law Courts Complex in Vancouver, the...
originally intended the pool to be opened as part of the new Museum of Anthropology in 1976; now, nearly thirty-five years later, their original vision for MOA has been fulfilled. Pools had been installed temporarily only three times in MOA’s history: for a movie shoot in 1993
Intersection (film)
Intersection is a 1994 film, directed by Mark Rydell and starring Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, and Lolita Davidovich.A remake of the French film Les choses de la vie by Claude Sautet, the story — set in Vancouver, British Columbia — concerns an architect who, as his classic Mercedes 280SL roadster...
, for the APEC leaders’ summit in 1997
APEC Canada 1997
APEC Canada 1997 was a series of meetings focused on economic cooperation, held in Vancouver. It was the fifth APEC meeting in history and the second held in the Americas...
, and to celebrate Arthur Erickson’s 80th birthday in June 2004.
Highlights
Bill Reid
William Ronald Reid, OBC was a Canadian artist whose works included jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and painting. His work is featured on the Canadian $20 banknote.-Biography:...
, which is depicted on the Canadian twenty-dollar bill
Canadian twenty-dollar bill
The Canadian $20 bill is the most common banknote of the Canadian dollar; it is the main banknote dispensed from Canadian automatic banking machines . The Canadian $20 bill was introduced on September 29, 2004 as part of the Canadian Journey Series....
.
Other notable Bill Reid
Bill Reid
William Ronald Reid, OBC was a Canadian artist whose works included jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and painting. His work is featured on the Canadian $20 banknote.-Biography:...
works include his Bear and Wasco (Sea Wolf) sculptures, some of his gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
, and a prototype of the Haida dugout canoe
Dugout (boat)
A dugout or dugout canoe is a boat made from a hollowed tree trunk. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. Monoxylon is Greek -- mono- + ξύλον xylon -- and is mostly used in classic Greek texts. In Germany they are called einbaum )...
he carved for Expo 86
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
.
The Museum contains several large Musqueam artifacts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as many contemporary works commissioned from Musqueam artists such as Susan Point, Joe Becker, and Robyn and Debra Sparrow.
The Museum's Great Hall
Great Hall
Great Hall may refer to* Great hall, the main room of a royal palace, nobleman's castle or large manor house* Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Square, Beijing* Great Hall of the University of Sydney, Australia* Cooper_Union#The_Great_Hall, New York...
contains many fragments of totem poles from Haida and other First Nations villages along British Columbia's coast.
The Museum has an extensive collection from the South Pacific
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
.
There are about 6000 textiles in the collection; about half of these come from Asia. Of particular note are the Cantonese Opera costumes that are considered some of the world's finest. There are excellent holdings from the Northwest Coast, Oceania, Africa, and South America.
The MOA Archive contains approximately 90,000 photographs that cover a wide range of cultures, ethnographic subjects and historical events. The collection dates from the 1890s and is an important resource for researchers, writers and communities.
There are approximately 2800 objects in the African collection. The earlier collections came to MOA via missionaries, travelers, and ex-colonial officers. The collection includes masks, Yoruba thorn carvings, over 100 Makonde figures from Tanzania, approximately 100 Asante gold weights, weaponry from South Africa and about 100 mortuary objects from Egypt.
About 40% of MOA's collection is from Asia. The Chinese collections include between 1000 and 1500 pieces of Chinese ceramics, Chinese calligraphy, and paintings (with four recently identified masterpieces from the collection of Ho Ping-ti). In addition, there is a large collection of Japanese prints, Buddhist art, Hindu art (including Gandhara sculpture), textiles and clothing, and Indian calendar prints. Other collections include 2300 Chinese coins and amulets, 200 Sichuan blue thread embroideries dating to circa 1900, rare Tibetan robes, and masks from Noe (Japan), Sunni and Kolam (Sri Lanka), and Pongsan and Yangju (Korea).
The Haida houses outside the Museum were built under the direction of Bill Reid, who carved, along with Douglas Cranmer, many of the totem poles surrounding them. The original Reid/Cranmer totem pole mounted on the front of the big house was taken inside in 2000 due to deterioration and replaced with the new "Respect to Bill Reid Pole" by Haida artist Jim Hart.
The renewal project
In 2006, the Museum launched a multi-million dollar project to create new research wing, as well as new offices, laboratories, a culturally sensitive research room, recording studio, and a new, 5800 square feet (538.8 m²) exhibition hall, The Audain Gallery. Other enhancements included MOA's new Multiversity Galleries, the creation of the RRN (Reciprocal Research Network) linking Northwest Coast collections around the world, a relocated and expanded Museum Shop, year-round cafe, and courtyard and outdoor 'events pad' suitable for facility rentals. The project was completed in January 2010.Budgeted at $55.5 million, the Renewal Project received $34.4 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund ($17.2 million each), plus from The University of British Columbia, UBC Faculty of Arts, and the Museum itself. Recently, MOA received a major gift of $5.5 million from the Koerner Foundation, Toronto, towards the Project. Approximately $5 million remains to be funded through public sector donations to ensure the project's overall success.
The collections
This Museum includes a number of large sculptures, totem poleTotem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
s, and cultural artifacts. Although the museum's focus is on the First Nations of the Northwest Coast, the collection of 36,000 ethnological objects includes objects from all continents. These are mostly located in the Multiversity Galleries, where objects that would normally be stored behind the scenes are made accessible to the public. The collections include contemporary
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
works as well as historical objects. In addition to the ethnographic collections, MOA houses an archaeological collection of approximately 535,000 pieces. These are managed by UBC's Laboratory of Archaeology. The Museum also has a small wing dedicated primarily to European ceramic art works collected by the late Walter Koerner
Walter Koerner
Walter Charles Koerner, CC, OBC was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist.Born in Nový Hrozenkov, Moravia, he emigrated to Canada in 1938 after serving in World War I. His family had been involved in the forest industry and continued the tradition in Canada founding the Alaska Pine and...
. The Koerner Ceramics Gallery, which opened in 1990, contains over 600 European ceramics collected by Koerner, which he donated to the Museum in 1987.