Pop-Up Exhibitions
Image: Peter Whyte (1905-1966, Canadian), Mount Biddle and Lake McArthur, 1935, oil on canvas, WyP.01.069
The Beauty of Books
March 31, 2023 –
As many of you have experienced - books are portals to new lands, people, and experiences. They draw you in and immerse you in their worlds.
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Have you ever thought of the cover? The artist who interpreted and illustrated the magic within?
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Many sadly remain nameless, lost to large publishing houses of the past. Their legacies remain in the beauty of these books.
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Timeless, memorable, and charming.
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Never judge a book by its cover? In this case, please do.
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Explore the Archives, Libraries, and Special Collections online here:
Cave & Basin Mural Project
JUNE 12, 2022 – NOVEMBER, 2022
Located at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site
Celebrate the rich Indigenous history and contemporary significance of Banff, through a public art initiative that shares visual stories from a diversity of Indigenous community perspectives in the form of colorful murals.
Featuring artwork by Treaty 7 artists (Îyârhe Nakoda, Blackfoot Confederacy, Tsuut’ina) developed through a partnership between Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and Parks Canada.
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Célébrez la riche histoire des Autochtones et l’importance contemporaine du parc national
Banff grâce à un projet d’art public où des fresques colorées racontent des récits visuels de différentes perspectives autochtones.
Les œuvres ont été créées par des artistes des Premières Nations signataires du Traité no 7 (Îyârhe Nakoda, Blackfoot Confederacy, Tsuut’ina) dans le cadre d’un partenariat entre le Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies et Parcs Canada.
This Wild Spirit
JULY 5 – OCTOBER 20, 2022
Located in the Historic Banff Train Station
What was "This Wild Spirit"?
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Women's creative and cultural legacy suggests that it was a complex physical, intellectual, and imaginative reaction to a majestic environment that challenged women to explore a wider world, both outside and within themselves. Ultimately, it was liberating, invigorating, and soothing; those who were consumed by it lived lives rich with discovery and adventure.
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Women in the Rocky Mountains include Stoney-Nakoda Aboriginal women who travelled and lived along trails blazed by their bands for generations. Métis women, too, made their homes in the Canadian Rockies after fur traders and explorers reached the prairies and eastern mountain regions in the eighteenth century. After 1885, Canadian, American, and British women followed, arriving aboard the trains of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Some were travelers seeking challenge and diversity in an otherwise socially circumscribed life; others were tourists seeking the comforts of home in a wilderness playground. In time, the image and idea of women in the mountains evoked such glamour and allure that advertisers and Hollywood alike could not resist.
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Inspired by the lives and legacies of women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, This Wild Spirit explores and shares their creative responses to that vast and magnificent land and culture.
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Previously exhibited at the Whyte Museum, This Wild Spirit was created by Colleen Skidmore, Associate Professor at the University of Alberta, in conjunction with her book of the same title. It has also been shown in Edmonton, Jasper, and Lethbridge.
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Available for purchase at any local book retailer, including the Whyte Museum Book Shop.