This beautifully designed book features dramatic new photographs of the collections and exhibitions housed in western Canada's oldest, largest and best-loved museum. It is introduced by CEO Jack Lohman, who created the book as part of a far-reaching revitalization of the Royal British Columbia Museum. Lohman also contributes an insightful essay about the importance of museum collections and supports his argument with four more specific essays from Indigenous collections curator Martha Black, botany curator Richard Hebda, archaeology curator Grant Keddie and former provincial archivist Gary Mitchell.
Treasures of the Royal British Columbia Museum and Archives celebrates not just the richness of museum collections but their importance to culture, science and our understanding of British Columbia's place in the world.
Jack Lohman is chief executive officer of the Royal BC Museum and Archives, professor in Museum Design and Communications at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts in Norway and editor-in-chief of UNESCO's publication series Museums and Diversity. His most recent book is Great Expectations.
"Treasures masterfully weaves a narrative that explores the interconnections between natural, cultural, and historical spheres. . . . Telling the stories of how museums create these powerful spaces continues to ignite curiosity and wonder." — Leslie Tepper, BC Studies