We Stand On Guard For Thee:
An exhibition to commemorate the Canadian Navy Centennial
A phrase from our national anthem captures the essence of this new feature exhibition for the Vancouver Maritime Museum. The Canadian Navy is 100 years old this year and the Museum is pleased to be able to honour and recognize this significant anniversary.
The exhibit features the work of maritime artist, John Horton, CSMA, FCA who has been painting naval history for years. Horton has gathered together 34 images that tell very special stories about the service so close to his heart. The exhibit also features artifacts and other important Navy paintings from the Museum’s collection.
We Stand On Guard For Thee is a must see exhibit for historians, for people wishing to support our valued men and women in today’s Navy and for those interested in marine art that really tells a story.
Studies in Sea Ice Exhibit
by Roberta Holden
Focusing her camera on the extraordinarily complex and dynamic qualities of the frozen ocean, Studies in Sea Ice by Roberta Holden is a work of colour archival prints taken by helicopter between the communities of Ummanaq and Nuussuaq on the northwest coast of Greenland – a region that has undergone a dramatic warming trend over the past ten years – as part of her Artist in Residency at the Upernavik Museum in Upernavik, Greenland in March 2009. This exhibit is on display in the J Torben Karlshoej (Teekay) Gallery.
Artist’s Statement
Drawing on a wide range of unique life experiences as well as struggles, Roberta Holden's recent photography can be seen to reflect a lifelong passion for the remote and rugged spaces of or planet. The themes of motion and impermanence that connect much of her work can be traced to her many years on the open ocean, both during her 14 years living aboard a sailboat as a child and later, as a professional sailor on the single-handed offshore racing circuit. Her first opportunity to explore the Polar Regions came during a a two-month, six-woman mountaineering and sailing expedition to Antarctica in 2002. Five years later, she returned as a photographer, lead climber and crew aboard another sailboat. Applying her studies in glaciology, atmospheric science and Arctic studies to her photographic practice, Roberta has since photographed throughout Arctic Canada and Greenland.
In line with contemplative traditions such as Zen Art or Miksang, Roberta’s photographic practice emphasizes the experiential qualities of seeing as a path to awakening. From this philosophical perspective, there is no distinction between the photograph, the photographed and the photographer, no subject and object, no seer and seen, no barriers between mind and space. It is all experience. Seeing, really seeing, is a meditative act that broadens and deepens one’s awareness. Once basic technical considerations are mastered, the camera is no more than an extension of the mind, a tool to focus one’s attention on space and time.
Roberta’s style of photography shares many similarities to the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi-Sabi, which embraces the imperfect, the impermanent, the incomplete (“nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect"), as well as the earthy, the natural and the minimalist. It relates to feelings of solitude, melancholy, asperity and desolation. Through her subjective lens as a photographer, Roberta seeks to open our eyes and our hearts to issues of social and environmental justice.
Port Metro Vancouver Gallery
in Children's Maritime Discovery Centre
Historically the Port of Vancouver (Burrard Inlet) has been centre stage for economic development in the City of Vancouver. 
The earliest business (mills and shipyards) started on the shores of Burrard Inlet and their presence continues to define the city and the Port. The Maritime Museum and the Port both share an interest in telling the story of the Port and its development and together developed a new gallery that opened this past summer. The gallery focuses on the historical development of the Port including its facilities and impact from both an economic and environmental perspective. The 700 square foot gallery is organized into four thematic areas that provide interpretive information on the history of the port, size and location of the port and its facilities; environmental impact; and economic impact. Our thanks to the Port of Vancouver for their support.
Our first past exhibit is online now! Click on the image
Virtual on-line tours of both
the St Roch and Ben Franklin!
St Roch
Ben Franklin
The Hidden Treasures database project was funded by the British Columbia’s Digital Collections Program. The Vancouver Maritime Museum acknowledges the support of the British Columbia Arts Council and the British Columbia Museums Association.
