Welcome Plaza

The Museum of Anthropology is situated on the traditional land of the Musqueam people. In 2011, the Musqueam and MOA celebrated the official naming of the Welcome Plaza: xʷəńiwən ce:p kʷθəθ nəὠeyəɬ, “Remember your teachings.” The Plaza is situated at the front entrance of the Museum to welcome all visitors.

The Welcome Plaza features artworks by Musqueam artists: Salish Footprint by Susan Point and Transformation by Joe Becker. Adjacent to the Welcome Plaza stands an Ancestor Figure by Susan Point.

Pacific Northwest Galleries + Great Hall

Featuring Northwest Coast sculptures, textiles, bentwood boxes, feast dishes and canoes from the past and present, the Pacific Northwest Galleries and Great Hall are iconic spaces within the Museum.

The spectacular Great Hall is comprised of 15-metre-high walls of glass and displays of large poles, house posts and carved figures, primarily from the mid-19th century. Works by contemporary artists are also featured, including Welcome Figure by Nuu-chah-nulth artist Joe David, Bone Box by Haida artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, and yaahl kingnganggang (Raven Calling) by Haida artist Robert Davidson.

In 2024, seismic upgrades to the iconic Great Hall were completed, ensuring that the space and the objects displayed within are well protected for future generations.

Multiversity Galleries: Ways of Knowing

These galleries house thousands of objects from the Museum’s worldwide research collections. MOA has worked with members of the communities whose relatives and ancestors made the pieces on display. Community members also helped to organize the collections using their own classification systems. The display cases are designed to provide maximum visual access to the objects. The MOA CAT computer terminals provide additional collection including images, audio and video at the touch of a screen. Within the Multiversity Galleries is the Presentation Circle which features short, informative videos.

Bill Reid Rotunda

MOA houses the world’s largest collection of works by Haida artist Bill Reid. The Bill Reid Rotunda displays his famous sculpture The Raven and the First Men as well as some of his other works in gold, silver, argillite and wood. With the assistance of several other artists, Reid created this massive work out of a giant block of laminated yellow cedar. It was commissioned by Walter and Marianne Koerner and unveiled at the Museum by HRH the Prince of Wales in 1980. It depicts a moment in the ancestral past of the Haida people when Raven found the first humans in a clamshell on the beach.

Koerner European Ceramics Gallery

This gallery features more than 600 European ceramics collected by Dr. Walter C. Koerner. The collection contains examples of tin-glazed and lead-glazed earthenware and stoneware from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Some pieces are considered to be the finest in North America, and the collection as a whole is unique in the world. Specially commissioned ceramics and textiles by contemporary Vancouver artists highlight the beauty and artistry of the collection as a whole.

From the Land

From the Land is an expressive display of contemporary ceramics located outside the Koerner European Ceramics Gallery, serving as thought-provoking introduction to the collection. From the Land draws highlights from the worldwide ceramics collections housed at MOA that showcase the breadth of ideas, techniques, forms and cultural expressions in clay. On display are works by pioneering and notable local artists, including Judy Chartrand, Amy Gogarty, Olea Davis, Gathie Falk, Tam Irving, Wayne Ngan, Laura Wee Lay Laq, and Brendan Lee Satish Tang.

Museum Grounds + Yosef Wosk Reflecting Pond

The grounds behind the museum feature two Haida Houses constructed by Haida artist Bill Reid and ‘Namgis artist Doug Cranmer and modeled on a 19th century Haida village. The buildings sit beside the Yosef Wosk Reflecting Pond, which provides a dynamic presence that animates the site and reflects the ever-changing sky. Around the pond are memorial and mortuary poles dating from 1951 to the present carved by Jim Hart (Haida), Chief Walter Harris (Gitxsan) and Mungo Martin (Kwakwaka’wakw).

Please note: the Museum Grounds and Reflecting Pond are currently being restored and revitalized following the Great Hall seismic upgrades.