In this series of posts we were exploring Nanaimo as a tourist attraction, and what better way to do that than through their local museum and art gallery. Both located in the Art District, and both conveniently within walking distance to our hotel.
The Nanaimo Museum offers a deeper look at the stories, industries, and communities that have shaped the city over time. Located in the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in downtown Nanaimo, this is well rounded introduction to the city with permanent exhibits that includes coal mining, timber, harbour life, the Hudson’s Bay Company era, community history, and Snuneymuxw living and culture.
Here, they host a handful of tours including ones within the museum and some out of it. And during our allotted 1.5 hours here we would get it all condensed and bullet pointed. The following are my biggest take aways.
You enter via the gift shop, it is how the museum and several of the city’s historical sites fund raise. Its larger collection of goods serve as a great place to pick up both Nanaimo and Canadian souvenirs. They even have pieces from local artists, which they highlight.
Here, they also host the city’s Sports Hall of Fame with memorabilia behind glass cases. This is free to see and appreciate, whereas the museum is by donation.
At the entrance is the Chief’s welcome to Nanaimo. Showing respect and acknowledging the indigenous tribes who lived on and own the land. There is plenty of Métis culture and lifestyle sprinkled throughout the museum.
Not only do these showcases speak to the history of Nanaimo, but they also serve as great examples of what happens when artifacts are reclaimed and how pieces need not be old to hold value within a museum. Empty showcases with their original signs speak to the former, and serve as great speaking points. Whereas museum commissions best illustrates the latter.
There were gifted carvings, traditional regalia, and a look at life that once was with a mini loom and the domestication of wooly dogs that would lend its fur to be used on it.
During our guided tour we would touch on the most significant historical points of Nanaimo starting the with the Bath Tub Races. And coincidentally our visit coincided with the actual annual races, today. However, we wouldn’t get a chance to witness them in person. Although we did get a taste of it with this moment in the museum.
The tradition started in 1967, thought up by the Harbour City’s mayor who often dressed as a pirate. He wanted to create a fun event and this was it. The racers originally started out looking more like bath tubs, but over the years due to its popularity and with safety in mind, the tub became more of a cockpit of sorts, where a more speed boat like base was attached to the bottom of it. The race also use to be from Nanaimo to Vancouver, but once the latter lost interest the former continued to carry this tradition forward and now it is held along the coast of Nanaimo.
Another, less glamorous, but highly discussed part of Nanaimo history is the story of Brother XII. He is the island’s famous cult leader, who once had supporters in both the United States and Europe. His origin story states that he dreamt of an Egyptian cross and believed that it was a sign that he was meant to lead people, and so he did. However, eventually followers caught wind of his deception and waned. This was when the fees became too high to be a follower, and when they fell victim to the abuse of his partner, Madame Z. There is the long held belief that Brother XII’s accumulated gold earnings is apparently buried on one of the Nanaimo’s islands, as he escaped his court hearing and eventually died in a Switzerland, in hiding.
You can’t hear “Nanaimo” and not think Nanaimo bars. The origin and recipe is contested outside of Nanaimo. Here, they follow one recipe, which was that of the winner of the Expo ‘86’s competition to find the best Nanaimo bar recipe and make it the official bar of the island. Apparently folks still disagree on the custard to base ratio and whether nuts belong in the mixc and then what kind. We would later go on the city’s official Nanaimo bar tour to judge for ourselves.
The Mining industry was also big in Nanaimo with plenty of mine shafts under it, as a result. The boom only ended after the discovery of more functional fuels, and coal became less popular. The recreated shaft in the museum gives you a simulated look of walking through one, with the ability to even carry a lamp to shine the way. The museum is said to be haunted so they celebrate this fact by turning the exhibit to a haunted mine shaft for Halloween, and it is also a part of their Haunted Nanaimo tour, where history meets ghosts.
Speaking of haunts, the city’s only bastion is said to be haunted as well. This structure is a memory of colonialism left behind. A Nanaimo heritage building, constructed without nails. Where it stands today is not where it started off at. The city has long since carved out more dry land and moved the tower as a result. Visitors have the ability to enter it and climb its two flights of ladder-like stairs. It is fortified like a fort and is even equipped with a cannon to greet ships. However, its true purpose is up for debate as it also served as the first Hudson Bay company outpost.
Our outdoor walking tour also included the city’s only “fire proof” hotel, the best spots to grab a meal at, and where the edge of the harbour once was.
We stopped at the art gallery to appreciate the gifted indigenous mask that hangs high on its exterior. Here, we were given another guided tour, looking at the set up of their soon to open, latest exhibit. As a smaller gallery, they need to close to the public in order to do a change over. So we caught glimpses of what will be, and the museum curators gave us insight to the inspiration behind the show.
Admission to the museum is by donation and on top of the visual exploration, they also host programs for all ages in their Art Lab. This includes ones for families and for teens. This is a creative space for learning, offering hands on activities.
August’s exhibition speaks to the natural impulse of humans to connect with nature, and the environmental crisis this causes. À juxtaposition between the desire to preserve and posses.
Especially poignant to this is the series of paintings pulled together by a business man. He collects landscapes only to destroy them with the building of commercial enterprises, yet uses the monetary reward of this to fund the arts. The pieces gathered were by students of an art school he supports. They were tasked to recreate Ai’s interpretation of mining. Taking something very controversial in the arts (Ai), and bringing it back into the hands of individuals. This all felt very meta and full circle. I would have loved to see the entire collection, as what was hung was complete, but they were limited in space, so had to cherry pick the pieces to stay.
Another featured exhibit is a piece that is never the same from each city it tours. On this round the work is adapted to Nanaimo’s context, using plants from all over Canada. They focused on ferns due to their connection to coal, and how Nanaimo was once a coal mining city. The artist also met with local indigenous elders and discussed the plants specific to the area, focusing on ones with healing properties.
Sensors are the placed around the city from Nanaimo’s wild wood eco-forest to the facet in the museum’s staff room to interact and stimulate with said plants.
There are also movies on seed banks and one that shows human’s connecting to the forest with dances in the nude. The pieces connects human’s spirituality with nature; while showcasing how both are alive and changing.
There are also pieces that speaks to the global reflection on birthing fertility and others that nod to microscopic works. It all feels close to home as the relationship between humans and nature is an ongoing and ancient one, and we each have stories of how we found connection in our own environments.
Once again it is shame we didn’t get to see the exhibit at its full splendour, and that my interpretation can only go so far without the full composition in front of me. Nonetheless this and the museum seem like interesting ones to take in when in Nanaimo and in need of some culture.
Nanaimo Museum
100 Museum Way, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5G3
250-753-1821
nanaimomuseum.ca
Nanaimo Art Gallery
150 Commercial St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5G6
250-754-1750
nanaimoartgallery.ca
