The Maritime Museum of BC is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the exhibit titled The Lost Fleet January to March, 2019. This exhibit will be on loan from the Vancouver Maritime Museum. The exhibit will also feature a new art show titled “A Series for Contemplation” from local Japanese-Canadian artist, Marlene Howell.
Media Open House Event Details
You are invited to drop-in anytime between 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM on Friday, January 11th at the Maritime Museum of BC (634 Humboldt St, Victoria BC). Admission is complimentary and no reservation is required. If you would like to come in outside of these times, please contact Museum staff and we will try to accommodate you.
Maritime Museum of BC staff and Artist-in-Residence Marlene Howell will be installing the art show during the Open House and will be available for comment. Photography is welcome.
About the Exhibit
On December 7, 1941 the world was shocked when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, launching the United States into the war. This action also resulted in the confiscation of nearly 1,200 Japanese-Canadian owned fishing boats by Canadian officials on the British Columbia coast, which were eventually sold off to canneries and other non-Japanese fishermen.
The Lost Fleet looks at the world of the Japanese-Canadian fishermen in BC before the bombing of Pearl Harbour and how deep-seated racism played a major role in the seizure, and sale, of Japanese-Canadian property and the internment of an entire people.
Explore the legacy of these tragic events by considering the lessons that have been learned and how Canadian society has changed because of this experience. Visitors will be encouraged to consider whether the present political and economic climate is very different today; current legislation, policies and public sentiment about immigration invites the question of whether this type of injustice could be carried out against other groups.
Duncan MacLeod, the Curator at the Vancouver Maritime Museum stated that “The Vancouver Maritime Museum was honoured to have the opportunity to share this important part of Canadian history. This exhibition allowed the museum to connect with new audiences through working with the Japanese-Canadian community. It also provided a context to present a discussion of prejudice against minorities in a modern Canadian context.”
About Marlene Howell and “A Series for Contemplation”
Marlene was born in Toronto and moved to Vancouver Island in 1996. Since then she has lived in and has exhibited her artwork in Khartoum, Sudan, New York City, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia before settling in Victoria, BC.
Her artistic development is a result of the influential instructors at the Art Student League of New York, and artists in British Columbia. Visual experiences are her inspiration, so she generally works from photographs, using various techniques, and experimenting with medium choices such as graphite, charcoal/watercolour/pastels, acrylic and Kroma Crackle.
Marlene has organized and exhibited in two spring Art Shows held at the Royal Colwood Golf Club in support of Soroptimist International of Greater Victoria in the spring of 2017 and 2018.
“An invitation to be part of The Lost Fleet Exhibition in 2019 was enthusiastically and gratefully accepted. Working on a series of confiscated Japanese-Canadian fishing boats provided me the opportunity to go back in time, through research of their history during the early years of WWII. Not having experienced this part of history first hand, conjured emotions that I was unprepared for during my work. With this in mind, my goal was to captivate the viewers through their imagination.” Said Marlene about her work on her upcoming show at the Maritime Museum of BC.
Information for the Public
Exhibit Dates: January 12 – March 31, 2019
Location: 634 Humboldt Street, Victoria BC
Hours of Operation: 10am-5pm, Tuesday-Sunday
With featured Artist-in-Residence, Marlene Howell
See Marlene at the museum Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10AM-2PM, January 17-March 28, 2019
The Museum will host a launch event for this exhibit, featuring three speakers: Dr. Jordan Stanger Ross, Michael Abe, and Dr. David Suzuki on January 24th.
Learn more at: http://mmbc.bc.ca/events/thelostfleetlaunch/