Special Community Programs for Wus’kwiy/ Waskway: From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs

Our newest exhibition, Wus’kwiy/ Waskway: From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs, is now open, and we are pleased to announce the details of two special exhibition-specific programs!

Monthly Saturday programs

The second Saturday of every month from 1 – 4 pm

Suggested donation of $2-3

The guided programs will run from 1:30 – 2:30 pm.

Birch Bark Biting with special instructor Holly Yuzicapi

Saturday, February 14 at the Museum

Try your hand at birch bark biting techniques using transfer paper with special instructor Holly Yuzicapi, a contemporary artist using traditional methods. “Bark biting is an ephemeral and subtle art involving four of the five senses in the creation of a final product that is as delicate and as fleeting as a butterfly wing.” (from WIGWAS: Bark Biting by Angelique Merasty, Thunder Bay National Exhibition Centre and Centre for Indian Art, 1988, pg. 3)

Birch bark biting by Angelique Mersasty, 1978. Bill and Michelle Tracy Collection.

Birch Bark Basket Making: Traditional Baskets, Modern Materials  

Saturday, February 28 from 1:30 – 4 pm, guided program with instructor from 1:30 – 2:30 pm

$25 per person, which includes all supplies.
Please note this program is best suited for ages 12+.

With inspiration from the new exhibition, Wus’kwiy/Waskway: From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs, participants will learn the techniques of making birch bark baskets out of felt and plastic strapping. Special instructor Holly Yuzicapi is known for transforming traditional pieces of art by using contemporary materials.

Birch bark container, artist unknown, 1992. Bill and Michelle Tracy Collection.

For additional information about the programs contact museum@artsandheritage.ca or (780) 459-1528

Wus'kwiy/Waskway--From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs

The transformation of our exhibition space is complete. Wus'kwiy/Waskway--From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs is officially open!

The First Nations people of North America have been using birch bark in innovative ways for many centuries. This exhibition highlights contemporary interpretations of traditional birch bark containers along with souvenirs intended for tourists, with pieces dated as early as 1866. Some of the pieces you will find in this exhibition include raw materials, such as porcupine quills, canoes, waste baskets, handkerchief boxes, a hat, and a rose made of birch bark!

porcupine quills

Contemporary interpretations of traditional forms of birch bark containers, first collected by 19th century traders and adventurers, are being displayed beside souvenirs intended for tourists. - See more at: http://museeheritage.ca/exhibits-events/permanent-feature-exhibits/#sthash.6UZ3vUcW.dpuf

Contemporary interpretations of traditional forms of birch bark containers, first collected by 19th century traders and adventurers, are being displayed beside souvenirs intended for tourists. - See more at: http://museeheritage.ca/exhibits-events/permanent-feature-exhibits/#sthash.6UZ3vUcW.dpuf

Contemporary interpretations of traditional forms of birch bark containers, first collected by 19th century traders and adventurers, are being displayed beside souvenirs intended for tourists. - See more at: http://museeheritage.ca/exhibits-events/permanent-feature-exhibits/#sthash.6UZ3vUcW.dpuf

The Musée Héritage Museum is proud to have Bill and Michelle Tracy as our guest curators for this exhibition. The artifacts in this exhibition come from their personal collection, along with some items from the Royal Alberta Museum and other private collections.

The Musée would also like to thank all of our staff for helping transform our exhibition space and put up the new exhibition. Special thanks to all of our volunteers! They put in a lot of time to do many different, tedious, and time consuming tasks. We simply would not have had this exhibition ready without their help. Your work is much appreciated by all of us here.

Now that the exhibition is open, please drop by to take a look! Our official opening reception is January 29, 2015 from 6pm - 8:30pm. The exhibition will be at the Musée until April 12, 2015.

A behind the scenes look at the installation of our next exhibition

Everyone is always thrilled to see a new exhibition come in, but not everyone gets to see the work that takes place behind the scenes. This is a peek at our staff and volunteers at work this week, installing our next exhibition, Wus'kwiy/Waskway--From Berry Baskets to Souvenirs.

Most of our exhibitions require input from a many of our staff members, but this exhibition has required all staff to be involved! 

The first step was to take down the previous exhibition, Take Your Best Shot.

Celina, Tori, and JP putting together a display case

 

                  Getting ready to paint the walls

 

Once that was done, we started getting to work to paint the walls, get cases together for the berry baskets to be displayed in and choose where to display the information panels.

When the cases are ready, we will arrange the baskets to fit the themes of the exhibit. 

Then it is time to set the lighting levels so that it is at an appropriate level and will not damage the materials in the exhibit. 

JP and Roy working with a plexi panel

Roy is getting fabric ready to be used in the display cases

The museum staff invites you to drop in next week and see what the gallery looks like when the new exhibition opens on January 27, 2015! Opening reception January 29 from 6pm - 8:30pm.

NEW Saturday Family Programs at the Museum

New for 2015!  Introducing Saturday drop-in programs for families! 

On the second Saturday of every month we invite you to come down to the museum between 1PM and 4 PM for specially-themed crafts and activities.

 Hour long guided programs with a museum programmer will be from 1:30-2:30. Drop-in programs are a suggested donation of $2-$3 per participant.

Our first program will be this Saturday,  January 10, 2015 and the theme is “Shape Builders.” 

Did you know that everything is built out of shapes? Look closely and you will see circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles everywhere! 

Join us as we explore shapes, the theme of this year’s Take Your Best Shot youth photo exhibition. 

Come by at 1:30 PM for the hour long guided program, where we will build a group shapes mural using an old-fashioned projector, or drop in between 1 and 4 PM to do some self-directed shape-related crafts and activities, including shape bingo, shape puzzles, and 3D shape-making.

Holiday Program Reflection

We welcome 2015 with a quick look back at our holiday programs, held last week on Monday, December 29, Tuesday, December 30, and Wednesday, December 31. 
We made winter landscapes and tuppies (dog blankets) for our sled dogs, and celebrated the New Year by learning about traditions in other countries, making New Year’s hats, and enjoying some fun and festive refreshments.
 Check out the photos below to see all the fun we had!