[BCMA] Media Alert: Indigenous art and knowledge featured in new exhibition

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

 Canoe Cultures :: Ho'-ku-melh opens Sep 16

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Maritime Museum exhibition honours Indigenous maritime cultures of the past
and present

*VANCOUVER, B.C. *-- On September 16, Vancouver Maritime Museum (VMM)
launches *Canoe Cultures :: Ho’-ku-melh – War Canoes and the Gifts They
Carry Forward*. Curated by Indigenous artist Roxanne Charles, this
multi-sensory exhibition focuses on the canoe as a symbol of strength and
resilience.

*Canoe Cultures :: Ho’-ku-melh* features the work of Indigenous artists and
canoe carvers alongside historical and contemporary images of Indigenous
canoe racing.

“The exhibition offers museum-goers an opportunity to learn from the rich
history of the lands and waters on which the museum is situated,” says
Curator Roxanne Charles. “The War Canoe offers so much and is tied deeply
to community health, well-being, land stewardship and activism.”

Emerging and practicing artists that include T’uy’t’tanat, Cease Wyss,
Manuel Axel Stain, Christi Lee Charles, Caleb Ellison-Dysart, Jessey Sue
Tustin and Caitlyn Alec have created works that explore identity, place,
culture, story and environmental concerns. Art mediums represented in the
exhibition include canoe carving, painting, weaving, apparel, beadwork,
sculpture, felting, glass etching, poetry, performance and video.

*Canoe Cultures :: Ho’ku-melh* also explores the ongoing work of the Canoe
Cultures program, an Indigenous-led initiative to teach young people to
build war canoes. The Canoe Cultures program is led by seventh-generation
skwxwu7mesh carver Mike Billy Sr.

“At the turn of the previous century, canoe races were an important part of
our daily and cultural life. The canoe was especially important to our
people when potlatches and other large gatherings were banned by the
government because the canoe gave us the one opportunity to celebrate and
meet as a group during these times,” says Mike Billy Sr., Master Carver.
“The exhibition will tell these stories but also show the steps and
resiliency needed for us to move forward and overcome these obstacles.”

“The VMM is honoured to host this exhibition and to share Indigenous
maritime traditions with our audience,” says VMM curator Duncan MacLeod.

“My hope is that this exhibition is empowering to Indigenous bodies and
opens up conversations about Indigenous rights. May it bring inspiration,
desire, strength and knowledge to those who visit,” says curator Roxanne
Charles.

For more information:

Canoe Cultures :: Ho’-ku-melh -- visit the exhibition web page.
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Canoes Cultures program -- visit the Canoe Cultures website.
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Vancouver Maritime Museum -- visit the museum website
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Media contact:
Melanie Jeffs
Marketing Coordinator
Vancouver Maritime Museum
marketing at vanmaritime.com
604-257-8302 | 604-836-8632
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