Museum of Anthropology at UBC

The Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA), at 6393 NW Marine Drive in Point Grey, Vancouver, British Columbia, is a university museum on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Founded in 1949 and moved in 1976 to a concrete post-and-beam building by the architect Arthur Erickson, it is known for its Great Hall of monumental Northwest Coast carved poles, house posts and canoes, and for the Bill Reid Rotunda, which holds the Haida artist's carving The Raven and the First Men. The Multiversity Galleries present thousands of objects from around the world in open visible storage, in glass-fronted drawers that visitors can pull out, which departs from the traditional label-and-case approach. Outdoors, reconstructed Haida houses and poles stand on a cliff overlooking the water. The curatorial approach is thematic and collaborative, with the museum working with Musqueam and other First Nations communities on interpretation and repatriation, and a Reciprocal Research Network linking source communities with collections held worldwide. Temporary exhibitions address contemporary Indigenous art and cultures from other regions. Preservation of the poles is a continuing concern in the damp coastal climate, and the building was renewed in the 2010s. A full visit usually takes two to three hours, and the museum is reached by bus from downtown Vancouver and from the UBC campus. Admission is about CAD $26 for adults, with discounts for students and seniors, and the museum stays open until 9:00 PM on Thursdays.