Learn more about their travelling exhibit ‘Chief Dan George: Actor and Activist’.

Carolyn Nakagawa is the Education Program Developer at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. She is a fourth-generation Japanese Canadian and holds a degree in English Literature and Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies from the University of British Columbia.

Irwin Oostindie served as both Communications and Executive Director for non-profits and public institutions including the Roundhouse CC, Gallery Gachet, North Vancouver Arts Council, Under the Volcano Festivals, and W2. He has worked for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, City of Vancouver, and Vancouver Park Board. Irwin is Director of Voor Urban Labs, supporting community research, communications, and engagement strategies. Since 2017, he has been President of the Wild Bird Trust of BC, managing the 320-acre Maplewood Flats in Tsleil Waututh lands and waters. Irwin is a double-MA graduate researcher examining place-based redress, and the spectacle of reconciliation: https://summit.sfu.ca/item/20219.

Kayt Ell is syilx and a member of Westbank First Nation. She has a Bachelor of Arts and has been working at the Sncewips Heritage Museum for two years. As museum assistant, Kayt has her hands in many of the museum’s moving parts. Primarily, she manages their social media, creates educational video content, curates displays, conducts community outreach, and coordinates events.

Chris (he/him) is an artist, musician, and art educator working in the unceded territories of the Coast Salish people. He has exhibited his digitally-based installations at galleries in the US and Canada, and has performed on stages in Canada, the US, and Europe. He completed undergraduate studies at the Alberta College of Art and Design, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art from Louisiana State University. Chris has taught studio art courses at Louisiana State University, Loyola University in New Orleans, and here at the Gallery.

Alanna is an artist and art educator of Mi’gmaq and settler descent occupying, living, and working on unceded Coast Salish territory, of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ Nations when in Vancouver and Nations including the q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓, q̓ic̓əy̓, and Semiahma when in Surrey. Alanna has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Simon Fraser University, a diploma in Fine Arts from Langara College, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Claire Moore has been involved in art education for most of her career. She has taught privately and through ArtsStarts, the Vancouver Biennale, and spent 10 years with the Surrey International Children’s Festival. Claire has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Cape Town (Michaelis School of Fine Art) and diplomas in secondary education and adult literacy. Her art practise covers a wide range of media and favours collaborative projects with other artists and community.

Denise Fong (方靜怡) is a 1.5 generation Chinese Canadian with roots in Hong Kong, Toisan (China), New Zealand and San Francisco. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program, with a special interest in public history, digital media and Chinese Canadian history. Since 2009, Denise has coordinated a number of historical research and public history projects, including SFU’s From C to C: Chinese Canadian Stories of Migration and UBC’s Chinese Canadian Stories: Uncommon Histories from a Common Past. She recently co-curated two Chinese Canadian exhibitions locally — Burnaby Village Museum’s Across the Pacific and the Museum of Vancouver’s A Seat at the Table. As the Research Director for UBC’s INSTRCC (Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies), Denise provides guidance on historical context and oversees the research team.

Lucy Bell, Sdahl K’awaas is a Haida museologist from Haida Gwaii. She has worked in the heritage and language management field for over 20 years, including serving as the Head of the Indigenous Collections and Repatriation Department at the Royal BC Museum. She and the Haida Repatriation Committee have traveled the globe to bring home over 500 of their ancestors’ remains since 1996. She has witnessed great discrimination and racism in museums but she has also witnessed great friendship and allyship.

Lou-ann Neel is the Curator of Indigenous Collections and acting Head of Indigenous Collections and the Repatriation Department at the Royal BC Museum. She is from the Mamalilikulla and Kwagiulth people of the Kwakwaka’wakw. Lou-ann is a practising visual artist and has worked for over 30 years in policy and program development in the areas arts, culture, languages and community development. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University, a Diploma in Public Sector Management from UVIC and a Certificate in the Administration of Aboriginal Governments.

Alyssa is the Curator at The Exploration Place in Prince George, BC. A graduate of Simon Fraser University, her educational focus has been in Archaeology, Conservation, and First Nations Studies. She has spent several years both in the field, working as an archaeologist and in the Curatorial Department at The Exploration Place. She is passionate about the human history of the Northern Region, loves the outdoors and is always eager to deepen her understanding of the history of the place she calls home.

Devon Hardy is an environmental specialist with a background in environmental sciences and water resources management, and more than 6 years of professional experience in her field. For the last several years, she has been working to combine her technical knowledge of environmental sciences and impact measurement with her passion for arts and culture by collaborating on carbon footprinting and sustainability initiatives in partnership with Ecosceno, the St-Ambroise Montreal FRINGE Festival, the Quebec Drama Federation, and the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts, among others. She is currently the Project Manager for the Canadian Creative Green Tools Adaptation.

Mickella is a registered Landscape Architect on the City of Surrey’s Parks Planning, Research, and Design team. She is keenly interested in the intersection of climate adaptation, nature-based green infrastructure, ecological sensitivity, and reconciliation. With multiple awards, significant funding grants and an international publication, Michella enjoys planning and designing interesting and exciting parks for Surrey residents.

Kelly Black is the Executive Director at Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens in Victoria. Kelly has more than a decade of experience in heritage, museums, and non-profit management. He received his PhD in Canadian Studies from Carleton University in 2018 and his research interests include Settler-Indigenous relations and public/local history. Kelly is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History at Vancouver Island University and current President of the Friends of the BC Archives.

Clea Schooner is a member of the Heiltsuk Nation and resides in Bella Bella, BC. She has spent her life surrounded by knowledge keepers who have instilled the value of the environment. Clea is cognizant of the impact she has on everything and everyone around her. Ms. Schooner works to find ways to preserve the life and spirit of the people who have come before her to preserve environmental sustainability, she does so through her personal and professional life as she leads communications for Qqs Projects Society, a community-driven charitable non-profit focused on the Great Bear Rainforest. Qqs implements climate action in each step of programming. Her work with Qqs reflects her values and beliefs.

Wei Yan is Chinese-Malaysian who studies plant and soil sciences at UBC. When she was looking for a deeper connection between her cultural roots and the intersection with our land and food systems, she also found her passion in storytelling through food and community engagement by working with different project teams at SJC. She also loves growing food!

Rose is a master’s student in the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia, interested in the connections between food systems and urban design. A native to Vancouver, she is continually exploring different ways to understand her home city and the unique stories it holds. When she’s not doing yoga or slaving away under a never-ending pile of research papers, you can find her baking 红豆酥饼 for her family and friends.

Jerrilin is privileged to work at one of Surrey’s most beautiful sites, Historic Stewart Farm, nestled in the forest at the river’s edge with view of the mountains to the north. Jerrilin’s mix of education and experience (Biology, Environmental Science, Education and Cultural Resource Management) is a good fit for the picturesque site that welcomes visitors to explore eight heritage buildings, heirloom flower and vegetable gardens, a fruit orchard and more. Jerrilin loves using stories and experiences to connect people and inspire learning.

Nicole Norris (Alag̱a̱mił) is a member of the Halalt First Nation nestled in the heart the Hul’q’umi’num Territory on Vancouver Island. We are part of the Salish people and have occupied the coast line of the Salish Sea for thousands of years. She has been a knowledge holder for a vast amount of years now with a specialty in shellfish aquaculture. Over the course of nearly a decade she has been working alongside Parks Canada staff restoring harvesting sites, reviving them back to being a productive food source for the surrounding nations in the spirit of Nusts’a Mawwt.

Erich Kelch, of German and English Ancestry, was born on the homelands of the Lekwungen people in present day Victoria. After a number of years of being involved in government and environmental work, collaborating with Indigenous peoples, he has found himself now working for Parks Canada in partnership with the local Nations who have stewarded these Sea Garden sites since time immemorial. Erich is the project manager for the second phase of this project and feels fortunate to be one part in this amazing work and helping carry it to wherever it goes

Taylor Sands is the Training Coordinator at Canucks Autism Network (CAN), where she oversees the bookings for over 200 live training workshops and community engagement events for recreation, sport, business, first responders, and schools. She is also a Behaviour Interventionist and has been working with individuals on the autism spectrum for over 10 years. With a history of directly delivering autism training workshops and 5 years of working as an interpreter in museum settings, Taylor is passionate about supporting museum educators to provide inclusive and welcoming spaces for autistic visitors.

Sandra Borger is the Curator of Programs at the Museum of Surrey. She oversees programming and events and leads the museum’s accessibility and inclusion projects and initiatives. She has worked in museums for over a decade in various positions, including research, education, visitor experience, and programming. Sandra is passionate about relationship building and making museums welcoming and relevant for all.

Hosted by Museum of Surrey

Our BCMA staff member, Leia, loves to get outside and away from her desk! She has curated a list of options for you to use during the wellness break today. Whether you have the ability to leave your desk or not, moving your body and calming your mind is possible! Below are a few stretches and articles for you to watch, read, or actively participate in.

Whatever you choose to do on your break, tag #BCMA2021 and our accounts on social media @BCMuseumsAssn (Twitter), BC_museums_Association (Instagram), and @BCMuseumsAssn (Facebook). Show us what you participated in, or where you walked, ran, biked or rested on your break!

Standing Yoga and Stretch – no mat needed! Youtube – Yoga with Adriene (15 minutes)

Guided Desk Stretch, mostly seated – no mat needed! Youtube – Adidas  (9 minutes)

Desk Workers Yoga. Youtube – Flow and Heal Yoga with Marinka (14 minutes)

Desk Stretches with Derek Waddy. Youtube – Lululemon (15 minutes)

Tara Brach – Basic Guided Meditations accessed via website. 

University of Michigan Health – Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

Office Ergonomics by Mayo Clinic, Sitting Workspace & Standing Workspace

Sherri is Director|Curator at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby. She is honoured to work, live, and play on the homelands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw and traditional hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking people, and acknowledge the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish, including the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm. Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, səl̓ilwətaɁɬ, and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm First Nations. Sherri has been a fine-arts professional since 1992 as a gallerist, gallery director, gallery owner, writer, editor, publisher, and curator. She is a graduate of the Sauder School of Business at UBC and of the Board of Trade’s Leadership Vancouver program where she was the recipient of the Multi-cultural Television Network’s bursary in 2006. After co-owning the Bjornson Kajiwara Gallery, a contemporary visual art space, from 2004 – 2008, she launched an online arts communications company, Vantage Art Projects, to bridge the gap between artists, institutions, galleries, and art fans by creating parallel opportunities for creativity through satellite exhibitions and on-demand publication of prints and books. Sherri remains passionate about the importance of communication and collaboration to support creativity. At the Nikkei National Museum, she is dedicated to the mission of honouring, preserving, and sharing Japanese culture and Japanese Canadian history and heritage for a better Canada.
In addition to her professional commitments, Sherri is active in the volunteer sector on the current Council of the BC Museums Association, public art committee member for Heritage Vancouver, Past President of the Contemporary Art Society of Vancouver, and is a teacher and Past President of Three Jewels Vancouver (a yoga/meditation/dharma centre).

Laneen is a Creative Strategist, Designer, and Lover of Snacks who founded Sublation Studio. “SBLTN” is a design and discussion studio that offers creative services focused on intersectionality, accessibility, and diversity through inclusive practises, education, and advocacy.
The term “sublation” refers to a philosophical concept that suggests when seemingly contradictory things or ideas intersect, they have the potential to produce something more powerful than either could alone. Sublation is integration without elimination.
Laneen embraces their own intersectional identities and integrates those perspectives into both their work and connecting communities. Through SBLTN, Laneen aims to show clients how their design, and practices, can be inclusive and accessible without sacrificing aesthetics or brand messaging and voice.

Taylor Sands is the Training Coordinator at Canucks Autism Network (CAN), where she oversees the bookings for over 200 live training workshops and community engagement events for recreation, sport, business, first responders, and schools. She is also a Behaviour Interventionist and has been working with individuals on the autism spectrum for over 10 years. With a history of directly delivering autism training workshops and 5 years of working as an interpreter in museum settings, Taylor is passionate about supporting museum educators to provide inclusive and welcoming spaces for autistic visitors.

Sarah Banks is the Exhibits Media Manager in the Exhibits Department at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM). She currently oversees development and production of over 200 computer interactives, videos, and soundscapes for upcoming exhibits at NASM’s location in Washington, DC. In her fifteen years with the Smithsonian, Sarah has worked on a variety of digital projects including websites, mobile apps, computer interactives, videos, and social media accounts. Inclusive digital design has become core to her work, and Sarah has had excellent teachers in Jan Majewski and Anoopa Sundararajan from IHCD, as well as the many user/experts who have so generously shared their expertise.

Dr Mariko Smith is an Aboriginal woman from the Yuin Aboriginal Nation (of the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia) with Japanese heritage. She undertakes an interdisciplinary practice encompassing museology, contemporary art, visual sociology, research methodology, epistemology, and history. Mariko has worked in the museum and tertiary sectors in Sydney, specialising in Aboriginal cultural heritage, community-based cultural resurgence projects, and incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing into museum and artistic practices. She is currently the First Nations Collections & Engagement Manager at the Australian Museum, and is also an Honorary Associate in the School of Literature, Art & Media at the University of Sydney.

Daniel Sims is a member of the Tsay Keh Dene First Nation. He is also an associate professor and the chair of the Department of First Nations Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. He is currently working on a book on the impacts of the W.A.C. Bennet Dam on the Tsek’ehne of Northern British Columbia as well as a research project examining concepts of wilderness and failed economic developments in the Finlay-Parsnip watershed.

Janis Kahentóktha Monture is Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River.  Janis returned as the Executive Director of Woodland Cultural Centre in May 2020.  Previously, Janis was appointed the Director of Tourism and Cultural Initiatives for the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation from 2017 – 2020.  From 2003 – early 2017 Janis was the Executive Director of the Woodland Cultural Centre, one of the largest First Nations- run cultural centres/museums in the country.  In her capacity with Woodland, Janis was a steering committee member for the Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures.  A committee member for the Arts & Culture Advisory Council for the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Para Pan American Games.  For two brief 18-month periods Janis was on secondment to Harbourfront Centre as the Guest Artistic Director of Planet IndigenUS in 2009 and 2015.  Janis attended the University of Western Ontario where she attained a Bachelor of Arts in History and received a Museum Studies diploma from Algonquin College.  Janis continues to volunteer in her community at Six Nations and in Brantford with various organizations such as Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Brant Community Foundation and the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation.