Affordable housing, gay rights, foreign policy, pot and even other protesters.
Indeed, Vancouverites love a good protest. And even the odd riot, too.
A century鈥檚 worth of that political history plays out beginning Thursday, Sept. 28 as part of a new exhibit at the Museum of 麻豆传媒映画called City on Edge: A Century of 麻豆传媒映画Activism.
Spanning events from 1907 to present day, the exhibit consists of 650 photographs taken from the archives of the 麻豆传媒映画Sun and Province.
鈥淚 tried to represent the broadest possible spectrum of protests from people on both sides of issues 鈥斅� there are protests by women for abortion and against abortion, there are picketers picketing picketers,鈥� said exhibit co-curator Kate Bird, a retired Pacific News Group librarian.
The exhibit consists of still photos, videos, projections and the unmistakable sound of protest 鈥� voices, drums, chants, explosions and rallying cries. It鈥檚 an extension of Bird鈥檚 2016 book 麻豆传媒映画in the Seventies, though the exhibit follows themes 鈥� labour, social justice and riots, for example 鈥� rather than the chronological style found in Bird鈥檚 book.
Bird and co-curator Viviane Gosselin purposely selected made-in-麻豆传媒映画protests and scenes: the anti-Asian race riot of 1907, the 1971 Gastown Riot, last year鈥檚 Kinder Morgan protests and, of course, the city鈥檚 regrettable past dealing with losing big-time hockey games. 聽
鈥淏ecause of the content, we want it to be overwhelming at times, we want it to be dramatic,鈥� said Gosselin, who serves as the museum鈥檚 director of collections and exhibitions. 鈥淚t should be because this is about these big, transformative moments.鈥�
Other protest movements that aren鈥檛 inherently specific to 麻豆传媒映画are also included: Clayoquot Sound in the early 鈥�90s, or immigrants protesting government policies in their native countries where they鈥檇 be persecuted or even killed for doing so.
Getting access to a treasure trove of photos normally protected by copyright and usage fees was a coup for the museum. Bird got buy-in from Sun editor Harold Munro for her book last year, and that agreement carried over to the current museum exhibit. Those photos would have cost somewhere in the thousands of dollars otherwise.
Roughly 40 photographers are represented in the exhibit, with Bird鈥檚 favourite 鈥� at least in name 鈥� being former Province shutterbug Huxley Lovely.
鈥淭here is no one specific profile type of a photographer,鈥� Bird said. 鈥淏ut they鈥檙e very competitive and they鈥檝e always been very competitive to try and get their shot on the front [page].鈥�
The 2011 Stanley Cup riot comes up in conversation almost as a matter of course, but also because of its place in the city鈥檚 history. The images are striking, shocking and in some cases, just plain stupid.
鈥淥bviously, the sexiest images are the ones of the riot but we didn鈥檛 want them to overtake the legitimate protest photos,鈥� Bird said. 鈥淭he two things that 麻豆传媒映画is known for, hockey riots and pot protests, that is not really what we鈥檙e looking to. Here are all these people actually trying to make change, whereas that鈥檚 a whole other story.鈥�
City on Edge: A Century of 麻豆传媒映画Activism is on display at Museum of 麻豆传媒映画from Sept. 28 until Feb. 18, 2018.
@JohnKurucz
