Inside Vancouver

openMOV: MOV’s 70,000 Collection Now Online

by Dana Lynch in Town on November 15, 2011

Ferguson Point Tea House flyer, c. 1951 to 1960; one of the many Vancouver artifacts accessible online at openMOV. Photo: Museum of Vancouver

The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) has just made it easier to learn more about Vancouver’s storied history with openMOV, a new online database that lets users access all 70,000 artifacts in the Museum’s collection.

Custom-made for MOV by Vancouver‐based Fuse Interactive, openMOV allows users to search for objects by keyword, by “department” (e.g., Asian Studies, History), by “Geocultural area,” and by place of origin. Currently, only 10,000 items are accompanied by images, but MOV plans to increase that number as quickly as possible.

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openMOV: MOV’s 70,000 Collection Now Online

Neon Vancouver, Ugly Vancouver opens at MOV

by Taraneh in Events on October 13, 2011

Image: Museum of Vancouver

Flying pigs. Smiling buddhas. Owls carrying take-out. Curling seahorses. Colliding cars. Are these bright beacons of Vancouver business garish or charming? The Museum of Vancouver’s latest exhibit, Neon Vancouver, Ugly Vancouver—opening today, Oct. 13—tackles the city’s historic neon debate, placing our new found nostalgia for neon in the context of past criticism.

In 2011, it’s possible to star gaze while pounding the pavement in East Van. But if you took a stroll down Hastings in the 1950s, you’d be astounded a barrage of glowing neon colour. Vancouver was once the brightest city in Canada with 19,000 neon signs–one sign for every 200 residents. But by the 1960s, neon was already heading out of fashion and the signs were taken down until only about 45 remained.

Read on and weigh in on whether neon signs add glamour or detract from Vancouver’s natural scenery. Continue reading:
Neon Vancouver, Ugly Vancouver opens at MOV

Vancouver’s Secret Bollywood Connection: The bhangra dancing story

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on August 31, 2011

If you’re a fan of Bollywood films or have seen the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, you know bhangra dancing. The lively Indian music and dance form originated in the 11^th century in the northwestern Punjab region. Local farmers would celebrate each harvest with elaborate, jubilant steps. Over the centuries, bhangra grew to be a pivotal piece of national culture – celebrated in pop music and film soundtracks and exported around the world by Indian expats.

And among the more unlikely places where bhangra took root was on the extreme west coast of Canada in Vancouver.

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Vancouver’s Secret Bollywood Connection: The bhangra dancing story

Chosen Family Portraits at MOV

by Dana Lynch in Vancouverites on August 10, 2011

One of the Vancouver family portraits on display at MOV's "Chosen Family Portraits" exhibit. Photo: MOV

“There are the families we are born with and there are the families that we choose.”

That’s the theme of a engaging new exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV): Chosen Family Portraits. Created in conjunction with the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Chosen Family Portraits is a community-based art project that lovingly captures “chosen” (i.e., not necessarily biologically or legally linked) families among Vancouver’s queer, gay, lesbian, and transgender population.

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Chosen Family Portraits at MOV

Uniquely Vancouver: SweaterLodge Unlatched at the Museum of Vancouver

by Dana Lynch in Entertainment on January 6, 2011

SweaterLodge at Museum of Vancouver

If you’ve ever imagined what it would be like to live inside your polar fleece, now’s your chance to find out.

MOV, the Museum of Vancouver, kicks off 2011 with a new exhibit that is uniquely Vancouver: a mammoth polarfleece sweater that becomes a soft, architectural lodge. Titled SweaterLodge, the piece was created by Vancouver design studio Pechet and Robb Art and Architecture and was chosen to represent Canada at the 2006 Venice Biennale of Architecture. It’s exhibition at MOV is the first time SweaterLodge has been remounted in Canada.

Continue reading:
Uniquely Vancouver: SweaterLodge Unlatched at the Museum of Vancouver

openMOV: MOV’s 70,000 Collection Now Online

Neon Vancouver, Ugly Vancouver opens at MOV

Vancouver’s Secret Bollywood Connection: The bhangra dancing story

Chosen Family Portraits at MOV

Uniquely Vancouver: SweaterLodge Unlatched at the Museum of Vancouver

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