We invite you to celebrate the opening of our new exhibition, which explores the creative ideas that inspire Indigenous resistance to threats facing the world's largest rainforest.
Learn more.No RSVP required. Cash Bar. Remarks at
7:15 pm.
Parking: Use coupon code NATURE at the pay station to park for $2 after
5 pm.
Details
Opening Party: Thursday, March 9, 7–10 pm. Free admission.
Amazonia: The Rights of Nature explores the creative ideas
that inspire Indigenous resistance to threats facing the world’s largest
rainforest.
The exhibition features Amazonian basketry, textiles, carvings,
feather works and ceramics both of everyday and of ceremonial use,
representing Indigenous, Maroon and white settler communities. Today,
these groups confront threats caused by political violence, mining, oil
and gas exploration, industrial agriculture, forest fires, and
hydroelectric plants. Challenging visitors to examine their own notions
towards holistic well-being, the exhibition covers more than 100 years
of unsuspected relationships between Vancouver and Amazonian peoples,
ideas, and their struggles.
Rights of Nature departs from a social philosophy, known in Spanish
as “buen vivir”, in which the concept of a good life proposes a holistic
approach to development that intertwines notions of unity, equality,
dignity, reciprocity, social and gender equality. The concept aligns
directly with value systems intrinsic to Indigenous South American
cultures, and serves as a rallying cry to move beyond Western ideals and
practices of development and progress largely measured by profit.
The objects displayed in Amazonia: The Rights of Nature have been
exclusively assembled from MOA’s collection of acquisitions and
donations. Included amongst the exhibition are items from Frank
Burnett’s founding collection, donated to the University of British
Columbia in 1927, ensuring the exhibition spans more than 100 years of
exchange between Vancouver and Amazonian peoples.
Taking over MOA’s O’Brian Gallery, the collection’s items are
primarily composed of simple, identifiable elements: vegetal fibers,
wood, animal parts, clay, or feathers. These uncomplicated components
are transformed into extremely sophisticated and intricate textiles,
basketry, ceramics, feather works and jewelry, displaying the knowledge
and craftsmanship of some of the groups who reside in the region. Taken
in its entirety, the exhibition promises to offer a revealing window
into one of the world’s more culturally, socially, and linguistically
diverse regions, as well as a new framework for addressing some of the
globe’s most pressing environmental challenges.
