That Which Sustains Us

A new long-term exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver explores the city’s relationships to forests and the natural environment.

Written by Canada’s History staff

 — Posted January 14, 2022
The Movement display is part of That Which Sustains Us at the Museum of Vancouver.
COURTESY MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER

That Which Sustains Us was created by a curatorial collective that included Musqueam, Squamish, and Tseil-Waututh cultural experts as well as environmental historians and forestry researchers. The curators were supported by specialists in climate change, water quality, and biodiversity, and the exhibition was designed by architects Chad Manley and Daniel Irving, who used a variety of wood and paper elements to highlight the importance of forest resources in daily life.

For instance, the intricate Movement display utilizes innovative woodworking techniques while touching upon themes of resettlement, land clearing, and immigration. It includes a vessel shaped on one end as a Salish canoe and on the other as a whale’s tale, while paper wings that hang above it evoke a dragonfly.

The new exhibition That Which Sustains Us is at the Museum of Vancouver.
COURTESY MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER
An Indigenous carving is part of the exhibition That Which Sustains Us at the Museum of Vancouver.
COURTESY MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER
A large saw blade is part of a display in the exhibition That Which Sustains Us at the Museum of Vancouver.
COURTESY MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER

Visit the Museum of Vancouver website for more details about the exhibit, plus related videos.

This article originally appeared in the February-March 2022 issue of Canada’s History.

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