The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, in association with the Embassy of Canada, the Canadian Museum of History, the McCord Museum and the Haida Gwaii Museum, presents the temporary exhibition entitled: "HAIDA: Ζωή. Πνεύμα. Τέχνη. | HAIDA: Life. Spirit. Art."
It is an itinerant exhibition, organised by the Canadian History Museum (Ottawa) and teh McCord Museum (Montreal) in association with the Haida Gwaii Museum (Queen Charlotte island, British Columbia).
The exhibition aims to present, for the first time to the Greek public, the Life, the Spirit and the Art of the HAIDA, an indigenous tribe of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living on islands off the northwestern coast of Canada. The dented coastline of the Pacific, the ever-flowing rivers, massive and crystalline, the age-old forests that do not let the sun reach the ground, create powerful images of a unique natural environment and lead us to a meeting journey with the HAIDA, the people with the colourful garments, so far away from us, and so close to us through our common cradle of human civilisation.
Their daily life, their exceptional art, their cosmological beliefs and ceremonies, all remind us how unique and similar people are across the globe. What is more impressive is the fact that the HAIDA are still a vibrant tribe, struggling to preserve its traditions and the environment the previous generations have bequested to them.
The exhibition includes an excellent collection of traditional and modern artworks, with most artefacts dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. One hundred objects are displayed, characteristic of all aspects of life of the HAIDA, such as their daily subsistence activities, trade, technology, music, art and ceremonies. The artefacts vary, from elaborate boxes from bent wood to beautifully painted baskets, and from carved fish-hooks to models of totem poles. Visitors will have the opportunity to appreciate the exciting aspects of a culture that managed to survive for thousands of years on the Haida Gwaii (Islands of the People) and still preserves its vitality to this day, along the coast of Canada.
The exhibition is a reciprocating event from Canada to Greece, for the presentation of the exhibition: "The Greeks: from Agamemnon to Alexander the Great" in north America (Montreal and Ottawa in Canada, Chicago and Washington in the USA).
