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Museums & Galleries

Museum of Anthropology

The Museum of Anthropology was founded in 1949 to collect, preserve, research, and display archaeological and ethnographic material from British Columbia and the rest of the world. Today, it is Canada’s largest teaching museum and one of its most popular public museums. Winner of the 1989 Canadian Tourism Commission’s “Tourist Attraction of the Year – Canada” Award, MOA annually attracts 148,000 visitors.

The Museum houses one of the world’s finest collections of Northwest Coast First People’s art in a spectacular building overlooking mountains and sea. Designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and opened in 1976, this award-winning concrete and glass structure is based on the post-and-beam structures of northern Northwest Coast First Nations. MOA’s Great Hall displays huge totem poles, feast dishes, and canoes from the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Haida, and Coast Salish peoples, while smaller pieces in gold, silver, argillite, wood, and other materials are exhibited elsewhere in the galleries.

The outdoor sculpture complex includes two Haida Houses and several totem poles by some of the finest contemporary First Nations artists of the Northwest Coast. The Museum also has the world’s largest collection of works by Haida artist Bill Reid, including Reid’s famous sculpture in cedar, The Raven and the First Men.

The Koerner Ceramics Gallery displays a collection of European wares unique to North America. This award-winning exhibit features a 600-piece collection of 15th to 19th century European ceramics, as well a specially commissioned ceramics and textiles by contemporary Vancouver artists.

The Museum’s extensive Visible Storage Galleries make more than 14,000 objects from the collections accessible to the public. Arranged according to culture and use, the galleries invite individual exploration, comparison, and appreciation of objects from cultures all over the world.

Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery

The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery is one of the province’s premier showcases for contemporary art. Through exhibitions, publications, lectures and symposia, the Gallery’s programs emphasize research, teaching, and scholarship in areas ranging from B.C. art history to international contemporary art, and contemporary approaches to the practice of art history, criticism and curating.

The Gallery houses the University of British Columbia’s growing collection of contemporary art and artists’ archives. The collection has become an important cultural amenity and contains significant works by both Canadian and international artists. The outdoor collection is accessible to the public year round and includes works by renowned artists such as Rodney Graham, Jamelie Hassan and Edgar Heap of Birds.

Established as the UBC Fine Arts Gallery in 1948, the gallery was originally housed in the basement of the Main Library building. For much of its early history it was the only institution to focus on contemporary art in Vancouver, and established a reputation for innovative and experimental work. In 1995, when the Gallery opened its new purpose-built premises at 1825 Main Mall, it was rededicated the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Designed by architect Peter Cardew, the Belkin Art Gallery has been described by critics as ”the most beautiful academic showcase of fine art in Canada”.

The Belkin Art Gallery’s programs serve a wide audience, which includes the students and faculty of the campus community, as well as a local, national, and international publics concerned with contemporary art.