All Dressed Up
May 29 - October 31, 2021; Old City Hall
Curated by Maria Coltharp, Collections Curator When one thinks about the Whatcom Museum collections, many things may come to mind: The John M. Edson Hall of Birds, the contemporary masterpieces in the art collection, the Photo Archives, or the treasures in the history collection. Perhaps lesser known is the incredible clothing collection that includes hundreds […]
Silk for Suffragettes and Schoolchildren: The Impact of Kimono on European and American Design Practices, c. 1890-1930
May 29 – August 29, 2021; Old City Hall
Curated by Julia Sapin, Ph.D., Professor of Art History, Western Washington University Americans and Europeans were crazy for kimono, and garments based on kimono, beginning in mid-nineteenth century, including fashionistas in Whatcom County. This exhibition focuses on kimono-inspired objects that have come into the Whatcom Museum’s collection over the last fifty years. Primarily from Bellingham […]
Celebrating our Matriarchs
This virtual exhibition is part of our collaborative Community Photo Project tied to Matika Wilbur’s exhibition Seeds of Culture: The Portraits and Stories of Native American Women.
We all know women who have inspired and influenced us, taught us, raised and cared for us, mentored and encouraged us to become better people. From the past to our shared present, matriarchal figures have an enduring importance.
As part of the project, we invited community members to share a photo of a matriarch important to them. Submissions were accepted during March and are now displayed below. We’re excited to share these photographs with you, along with words from the photographers.
Do you see your photo and would like to add more information? Contact us at info@whatcommuseum.org.
Seeds of Culture: The Portraits and Stories of Native American Women
March 13 – June 13, 2021; Lightcatcher building
Exhibition by Matika Wilbur In 2012, critically acclaimed photographer and social documentarian Matika Wilbur (Tulalip & Swinomish) sold her belongings and set out on the road to launch Project 562, a crowd-funded initiative to visit, engage, and photograph people from 562+ sovereign Tribal Nations in the United States. Seeds of Culture: The Portraits and Stories of […]
Fluid Formations: The Legacy of Glass in the Pacific Northwest
April 10 – October 10, 2021; Lightcatcher building
Organized by Amy Chaloupka, Whatcom Museum Curator of Art Celebrating a rich legacy unique to our region, Fluid Formations features the art of fifty-seven contemporary artists working in glass. The Pacific Northwest is the epicenter of glass, spurred by the establishment of Pilchuck Glass School on a remote tree farm in Stanwood, Washington in 1971. […]
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Oiva Toikka; Pileated woodpecker. Museum of Glass collection.
As part of this series, the Whatcom Museum is also featuring a collection of glass birds in the John M. Edson Hall of Birds at Old City Hall. Birds by Toikka, made by renowned Finnish artist and designer Oiva Toikka (1931 – 2019) for the design company, Iittala, are on loan from Museum of Glass Collection, and the Paul Kangas Collection, which is a promised gift to Museum of Glass. The glass birds are interspersed among our mounted bird display cases. Image credit: Oiva Toikka; Pileated Woodpecker; 2011; Blown glass; 10 × 4.5 in. Collection of Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington.
Jac Trautman: The Specter of the Young and Indigenous
January 28 - June 13, 2021; Lightcatcher Courtyard
Jac Trautman is a photographer and artist from Seattle and a member of the Duwamish tribe. With this series of seven photographs, Trautman takes a single exposure with multiple projected images contained within and draws attention to the concepts of splitting and projection and their role in the history of interactions with the colonizer and […]
Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
January 1 – July 3, 2021; Old City Hall
The story of women’s suffrage is a story of voting rights, of inclusion in and exclusion from the franchise, and of our civic development as a nation. In 2020, the Smithsonian celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment with Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence. This dynamic poster exhibition explores the complexity of […]
Geometry and Color: Sonia Delaunay and Bellingham Public School Students
Virtual Exhibit; Ongoing
As part of their distance learning materials, local students were asked to make artwork in the style of influential, Paris-based artists Robert and Sonia Delaunay. While the Delaunays’ works have been displayed in exhibitions at museums around the world, it turns out that Sonia Delaunay’s work can be found closer to home. The Whatcom Museum […]
People of the Sea and Cedar: A Journey Through the Tribal Cultures and History of the Northwest Coast
Ongoing, Lightcatcher People of the Sea and Cedar, in the second floor gallery of the Lightcatcher building, shares the history and art of the Northwest Coast people, blending both historical and contemporary perspectives. This exhibit features artifacts from the Museum’s collection, such as Coast Salish artwork and carvings, woven blankets, hand-made tools, cedar hats, clothing, […]
The Whatcom Museum acknowledges that we gather on the traditional territory of the Lhaq’temish – Lummi People – and the Nuxwsá7aq – Nooksack People – who have lived in the Coast Salish region from time immemorial. The Museum honors our relationship with all of our Coast Salish neighbors and our shared responsibilities to their homeland where we all reside today.
John M. Edson Hall of Birds
Opened March 16, 2017; Ongoing; Old City Hall This exhibit in Old City Hall provides a glimpse into the local history and culture of the Victorian Era, when taxidermy flourished and mounted animals often decorated interior spaces. For the Museum, this collection of birds is also important to the building’s history. If it hadn’t been […]
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Join volunteers from the North Cascades Audubon Society in the John M. Edson Hall of Birds on the fourth Sundays of each month. Drop-in between 1:30-3:30pm to learn more about birds of the Pacific Northwest, as well as about migration, conservation, birds in peril, and the importance of studying bird specimens today.
