To mark the 100^th anniversary of architect Arthur Erickson’s birth on June 14, join us for a presentation about MOA’s iconic design and the innovative renewal project. MOA’s recognizable building was originally designed by the Canadian architect, Arthur Erickson (1924–2009), and has important heritage value for UBC and beyond. Following an 18-month closure and many years of project planning, the Museum’s Great Hall has now been seismically upgraded in order to protect the irreplaceable collection in the event of a major earthquake.

Bios

Nick Milkovich was born and educated in Vancouver. After graduating from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1968, he joined the firm of Erickson/Massey Architects. In 1972 Nick began his association with Arthur Erickson Architects, where he worked until 1991. Principally involved in the firm’s custom private residential work, Nick was also a member of the design team for the award-winning Museum of Anthropology at UBC and the Law Courts in downtown Vancouver. In 1979, he became an associate of the firm, in charge of residential projects and in 1987 he became the Director of Design. Nick established Nick Milkovich Architects in 1991. Since its inception, the firm has broadened its portfolio to include large planning and urban design projects, large scale public buildings, small and medium scale residential developments, and single-family residences, in North America and China.

Jay Hiscox is the Director, Project Services, UBC Infrastructure Development, overseeing a portfolio of construction projects at UBC since 2016. Prior to joining UBC, Jay was centrally involved in the Seismic Mitigation Program for the Vancouver School Board and has worked on projects across a wide spectrum of building types and scales. Jay is a Registered Professional Architect (AIBC) with experience on overseas projects in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and has been working in Vancouver offices since 1993. Project experience included time with Arthur Erickson at AWA and with Arthur Erickson-Atelier, which included major project experience on several of Erickson’s late career stage projects.

After an 18-month closure, MOA is thrilled to welcome visitors through our doors once again following the completion of the Great Hall seismic upgrades. Be the first to see the newly rebuilt Great Hall, and experience the revitalized and reinterpreted displays of Northwest Coast Indigenous carvings, poles, weavings and other works from the past and present.

At the Reopening Night, visitors will be treated to traditional Coast Salish song and dance by Tsatsu Stalqayu Coastal Wolf Pack, and there will be remarks from invited speakers.

The Museum will also reopen with two new feature exhibitions for visitors to experience: in Pursuit of Venus [infected] by famed Māori artist Lisa Reihana, and To Be Seen, To Be Heard: First Nations in Public Spaces, 1900–1965, curated by Karen Duffek, MOA Curator for Contemporary Visual Arts + Pacific Northwest and Dr. Marcia Crosby (Ts’mysen/Haida).

Free museum admission | 5 pm onwards
Performance by Tsatsu Stalqayu + Opening Remarks | 7 pm

*Please note: registration/tickets are not required for this event.

MOA gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Province of British Columbia towards our Reopening Celebrations.

MOA is thrilled to partner with the Pacific Assistance Dog Society (PADS) for a special afternoon with the puppies from the UBC Campus Canine Team.
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Take a break from your studies, soak up the beautiful setting around MOA’s Haida House and get a dose of puppy energy, while learning more about these assistance-dogs-in-training!

Free and open to all. Very limited capacity, first come first served.

MOA senior staff and special invited guests will guide monthly tours through the Museum’s galleries. They will share the rich stories and exciting research behind the collections and discuss the issues that are pushing the Museum in new directions.

During MOA’s temporary closure, these tours provide an intimate look at the Museum’s behind-the-scenes work and allow visitors to engage in meaningful discussions. Don’t miss your chance to see MOA’s expansive world collections in a new and intimate light.

Tours are 90 minutes long. The same tour will be offered twice a month. Tour guides and topics will vary each month.

Due to the behind-the-scenes nature of these tours, registration/tickets are required in advance. Capacity is very limited. Tickets will not be available at the door. Latecomers cannot be accommodated.

For all ticket inquiries or issues please contact MOA’s ticketing service, Chan Centre Ticket Office, directly at 604.822.2697 or chan.tickets@ubc.ca.

Tour Schedule

Tours are offered twice a month: Thursday tours at 7 pm and Friday tours at 4:30pm. More dates to be announced.

Tour descriptions and ticketing links will be added here as available.

Final MOA Unmasked Tour: Thursday, February 15 ( 7 pm) + Friday, February 16 (4:30 pm): MOA Unmasked: Afrofuturism and the Black Speculative Arts Movement

Past Tours

February 15 + 16: MOA Unmasked: Afrofuturism and the Black Speculative Arts Movement

January 19 + 25 : MOA Unmasked: Engaging Indigenous Partners

December 14 + 15: MOA Unmasked: Activating the Northwest Coast Collection.

November 16 + 17: MOA Unmasked: Belonging and Belongings

October 12 + 13: MOA Unmasked: The Museum as a Classroom

September 14 + 15: MOA Unmasked: Beading + Textiles in Motion

August 10 + 12: MOA Unmasked: Bringing Exhibitions to Life

July 13 + 15: MOA Unmasked: Unlocking Art, Heritage and Knowledge from Disasters

June 8 + 10: MOA Unmasked: Activating the Northwest Coast Collection

May 11 + 13: MOA Unmasked: Community Through Collaboration

April 13 + 15: MOA Unmasked: Looking at the Benin Collections

March 9 + 11: MOA Unmasked: Unlocking Art, Heritage and Knowledge from Disasters

In this special tour, meet creative directors from one of MOA’s community partners, Ethọ́s Lab, a non-profit innovation academy for teens based in Vancouver. With the support of UBC’s Community University Engagement Support Fund, MOA has been partnering with Ethọ́s Lab on a creative arts and science project. Tour participants will hear from Ethọ́s Lab creative directors Jazz Groden-Gilchrist and Olúwáṣọlá Kẹ́hìndé Olówó-Aké, and MOA Curator Nuno Porto for a behind-the-scenes presentation of this collaborative project.

Don’t miss your last chance to join a MOA Unmasked tour before the Museum’s reopening in June. Tours fill up quickly—book your spot today!

Ethós Lab is an after-school innovation academy for youth Grades 5 to 12 to discover, explore and grow through S.T.E.A.M and culture-based experience.

Tours are 90 minutes long.

Due to the behind-the-scenes nature of these tours, capacity is very limited and registration/tickets are required in advance. Tickets will not be available at the door. Latecomers cannot be accommodated.

SOLD OUT: Thursday, February 15 at 7 pm
SOLD OUT: Friday, February 16 at  4:30 pm

TOUR POSTPONED

Due to dangerous road conditions and predictions of freezing rain in Vancouver, tonight’s MOA Unmasked: Engaging Indigenous Partners tour on January 18 has been postponed until Thursday, January 25 at 7 pm. If you are unable to make the new time please e-mail the Chan Centre Ticket Office at chan.tickets@ubc.ca and they will issue you a refund. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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On this tour, they will share meaningful ways that MOA engages with Indigenous peoples and how communities partner with the Museum, both onsite and in their home nations. Visitors will learn about MOA’s commitment to different Indigenous engagement projects and programs, such as the Indigenous Internship Program, which provides flexible internship experiences. Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn about collections access and how belongings and treasures in MOA’s collection travel within BC for visits back home.

Tours are 90 minutes long.

Due to the behind-the-scenes nature of these tours, capacity is very limited and registration/tickets are required in advance. Tickets will not be available at the door. Latecomers cannot be accommodated.

Buy tickets for Thursday, January 25 at 7 pm
SOLD OUT: Friday, January 19 at  4:30 pm

MOA Unmasked Tours are offered twice a month: Thursday tours at 7 pm and Friday tours are at 4:30 pm. See the rest of the tour schedule.

Venture behind-the-scenes at the Museum in this special tour that will focus on selected stories that MOA is privileged to share about its Collections Access Program.

The Calls to Action issued by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission have challenged museums to address the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) directive that Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage. Learn how the First Nations regalia housed at MOA continues to express family-owned rights, how community members are choosing to activate their ancestral belongings at the site of the museum and outside its walls, and how museum practices are changing as a result.

Tours are 90 minutes long.

Due to the behind-the-scenes nature of these tours, capacity is very limited and registration/tickets are required in advance. Tickets will not be available at the door. Latecomers cannot be accommodated.

SOLD OUT: Thursday, December 14 at 7 pm
SOLD OUT: Friday, December 15 at  4:30 pm

MOA Unmasked Tours are offered twice a month: Thursday tours at 7 pm and Friday tours are at 4:30 pm. See the rest of the tour schedule.

In this dialogue, architectural historians Rana Abughannam and Dr. Nadi Abusaada discuss Palestine’s urban landscapes and how they have been shaped through history by British mandate and Israeli state policies and actions. Taking an anti-colonial lens, the conversation will address the urban histories of Jaffa and Hebron and their connection to the current siege on Gaza. This dialogue will be moderated by historian Dr. Hicham Safieddine.

This conversation is part of MOA’s Responsive Dialogues: Critical Issues + Conversations series, which looks at how museums should respond to current events and issues in the world by making connections to the work we do.

Online via Zoom.
Registration required. Click here to register.

Bios

Dr. Nadi Abusaada is an architect and a historian. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zürich. Nadi completed his Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in architecture at the University of Cambridge. Before moving to Zürich, he was an Aga Khan Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Architecture + Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Nadi is also the co-founder of Arab Urbanism, a global network dedicated to historical and contemporary urban issues in the Arab region.

Rana Abughannam is assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. She taught at Carleton University, the Canadian University Dubai and Birzeit University. She is a registered architect in Palestine with a degree in architectural engineering (Birzeit University) and a master of history and theory of architecture (McGill University). Her doctoral research (Carleton University) focuses on counter-colonial practices in Palestine.

Dr. Hicham Safieddine is Canada Research Chair in the History of the Modern Middle East and associate professor of history at the University of British Columbia. He is a scholar of political economy and intellectual history (19th and 20th centuries). He is author of Banking on the State: The Financial Foundations of Lebanon (SUP, 2019), editor of Arab Marxism and National Liberation: Selected Writings of Mahdi Amel (Brill, 2020), and co-editor of The Clarion of Syria: A Patriot’s Call against the Civil War of 1860 (CUP, 2019).

Just in time for the holidays, the MOA Shop Pop-Up Holiday Sale offers a unique collection of gifts, made by Indigenous, local and international artists and artisans. During MOA’s temporary closure for seismic upgrades, we’re bringing our popular gift shop to the UBC Welcome Centre for your shopping pleasure.

Find special and one-of-a-kind handcrafted gifts for everyone on your list. It’s the perfect time to start (or finish) your holiday shopping! Proceeds from your purchase support MOA’s acquisitions, publications and public programs.

MOA Members receive 20% off their purchase and UBC Alumni receive 10% off at the Pop-Up Holiday Sale (some exceptions apply; valid MOA or UBC ID required).

Location: UBC Welcome Centre in the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre | 6163 University Blvd
Parking: See full list of parking lots near UBC Welcome Centre

Can’t make it in-person to the MOA Shop Pop-Up Holiday Sale? The MOA Shop online is open throughout the museum’s temporary closure.

In this tour, learn how MOA strives to be a place of belonging for communities whose belongings are stewarded at the Museum. Using recent examples of new acquisitions and community loans, they will share stories of how relationships are cultivated between the people, the places and the material entities.

Tours are 90 minutes long.

Due to the behind-the-scenes nature of these tours, registration/tickets are required in advance (ticket links below). Tickets will not be available at the door. Latecomers cannot be accommodated.

Thursday, November 16 at 11 am: SOLD OUT
Thursday, November 16 at 7 pm: SOLD OUT
Friday, November 17 at 4:30 pm: SOLD OUT

MOA Unmasked: Behind-the-Scenes Tours are offered three times a month: select Thursdays at 11 am + 7 pm and  select Fridays at 4:30 pm. See the full monthly tour schedule.

For all ticket inquiries or issues please contact MOA’s ticketing service, Chan Centre Ticket Office, directly at 604.822.2697 or tickets@tickets.ubc.ca.