Weekly Family Programs

Art Agents + The Making Place

Every Sunday from 12 to 4 PM, the Gallery offers unique activities geared toward visitors aged 5- to 12-years-old and their families. Join our team of Art Agents as they bring the exhibitions to life. Then move on to The Making Place to experiment with themes, processes and materials that you see in the artworks on display in a number of engaging art-making activities. Drop in any time between 12 and 4 PM to take part.

Throughout the month of January, we will continue to explore the themes and various approaches of several of the 21 Indigenous artists featured in the exhibition Transits and Returns.

All activities are free for children aged 12 and under, when accompanied by an adult. Adult participation is free for Members with Gallery admission.

The Making Place Activity

JAN 5: Exploring Movement Through Weaving  

Making fabric involves taking thread, wool or other materials and binding them together through a process called weaving. Debra Sparrow, for example, practices Salish weaving traditions of the Musqueam using hand-spun sheep’s wool. Yellow and red cedar bark is also traditionally used to make regalia, basketry, mats, clothing and rope. These materials are of great cultural importance to First Nations peoples on the West Coast.

After examining Sparrow’s work in the exhibition Transits and Returns, we will use a similar weaving process to create our own small blankets by intertwining strips of pre-cut fabrics. Families will also be invited to work together to weave a larger collective cloth using materials from different areas of the world.