New Installations + Displays
Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific
Across the Pacific Ocean—Te Moana, Vāsaloa, na Wasawasa, Wansolwara, Te Moana nui a Kiwa—the tides are shifting. Rising seas swallow homes, storms strike with new force, yet mangroves still root deep, holding against the waves.
Trouble in Paradise: Climate Change in the Pacific brings together photographs by Pacific Islanders of all ages, capturing everyday moments of beauty, resilience, and change. Displayed alongside historical objects and belongings in MOA’s Multiversity Galleries, these images spark dialogue between the deep cultural ties that have shaped Pacific life for millennia and the urgent transformations of today. As the landscapes that shaped these collections change, how do we reflect on the communities whose lives, histories, and futures remain bound to them?
Developed from a British Council touring and online exhibition, this intervention features photographs from a UK Government competition inviting Pacific Islanders to document life in a changing environment.
On display August 2025 – August 2026 | Multiversity Galleries
Curator: Mitiana Arbon
Design team: Cody Rocko, Pavneet Pal Singh
French translators: Marie-Claude Fortin, Mauhiga Ikauno
In partnership with British Council New Zealand and the Pacific, British High Commission Wellington (New Zealand) and UBC Pacific Island Research Network
Photo credit: Maxim Va’a, Samoa. Copyright British High Commission.
“We Come From Great Wealth: Ḵaḵaso’las—Ellen Neel and the Totem Carvers.”
This undergraduate student exhibition follows the life story, art and legacy of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw artist Ḵaḵaso’las-Ellen Neel (née Newman). Ḵaḵaso’las-Ellen Neel was an innovative force in the Indigenous art scene who continues to influence Indigenous artists. She was part of a lineage of artists and leaders, which she passed on to her children and grandchildren. As a political leader, advocate and knowledge keeper, she left an impact on the world and the city of Vancouver that can still be seen today. Key to the exhibition is Ḵaḵaso’las, the totem pole that stood in Stanley Park for nearly 50 years and was returned to MOA in September 2024.
This exhibition was curated by UBC students of ANTH 431: Museum Practice and Curatorship, who are grateful to be working with the Neel family to honour the life of Ḵaḵaso’las-Ellen Neel.
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On display May 15 – October 12, 2025 | Audain Gallery
Opening Celebrations on May 25, 2025
Photo credit: Ellen Neel in studio, circa 1958. Photographer unrecorded.
“Stories on the Land: Archeology in the American Southwest”
Curated by Indigenous Internship Program member, Hannah Feodorov (Diné: Navajo/Dutch/German), this installation features the research conducted by Hannah during the program. Archeology has served colonial goals by excluding Indigenous people, disregarding their histories and separating them from their ancestors. It has fed outsiders’ fascination and exploitation of their culture and resources for their own benefit. Despite its colonial roots, the field is evolving to better serve Indigenous people.
“The existence of our stories on the land…[and] our ancestral connections between ancient First People and contemporary Indigenous people, are empowering to Indigenous people.” ~ Archeologist Dr. Paulette Steeves (Cree-Métis)
On display in the hall around the corner from the Cedar Café
Photo credit: Stories on the Land exhibit. Photo by Kristi Fuoco.
“Atlanthos: Youth-Driven Innovation Through Afrofuturistic Storytelling.”
In 2024, Ethọ́s Lab and Museum of Anthropology launched a new display called Atlanthos: Youth-Driven Innovation Through Afrofuturistic Storytelling. This world-building project, which features a fictional high-tech underwater realm, was driven by the creative minds of eleven teenagers who learned to ground their storytelling in African culture and history.
Ethọ́s Lab is a Black-led nonprofit innovation academy for youth in grades 5 to 12 based in Vancouver. Ethọ́s Lab delivers culturally grounded STEAM learning opportunities, informed by African histories and Black diasporic traditions creating connections to post-secondary and careers.
On display in the Multiversity Galleries (Case #99)
Photo credit: The Ethọ́s Lab Team and Atlanthos. Photo courtesy of MOA Programs.
“RetroPerspectives: Learning and Teaching at MOA Through Time”
This student exhibition features the vibrant history of MOA, which offered the first accredited museum training course in Canada. The exhibition explores the legacy of education at MOA and the numerous student exhibits that have been developed over the decades since 1968.
This exhibition is located in the Textile Research Room in MOA’s Multiversity Galleries. It was curated by UBC students of ANTH 431: Museum Practice and Curatorship.