ON Wednesday January 15, the New Westminster Museum and Archives will open its latest exhibition, An Ocean of Peace: 100 Years of Sikhs in New Westminster. This new exhibition was developed in partnership with Khalsa Diwan Society New Westminster. The opening reception, at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the Anvil Centre, features tours and refreshments. The exhibition runs to May 31, 2020.
In March 2019, Queensborough’s Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar celebrated its 100th anniversary. This exhibition explores and celebrates the Sikh community of New Westminster and their relationship to their place of worship – the spiritual, political, and social centre of the community.
“This exhibition is the result of an important partnership between the City, the Gurdwara, and the community,” says guest curator Paneet Singh. “It’s important that these stories are being shared by the community and that the community is in control of the narrative that is about a place with which they have such a deep and intimate relationship. For these stories to be centralized in a setting like the New Westminster Museum, outside of the walls of the Gurdwara, alongside the popular narratives of the city’s history, provides a meaningful opportunity for sharing and community-building.”
Guest curated by Naveen Girn and Paneet Singh, and graphic designed by popular illustrator Anu Chouhan (@anumation), this exhibition is the result of over a year-long process of community consultations, conversations, one-on-one interviews, and oral history collection. The result is an immersive experience capturing the sights and sounds of Gurdwara life, and an exploration of themes of belonging, spirituality, identity, community-building, celebration, and activism.
Programming that will enhance this feature exhibition is being confirmed and will be updated on the museum website at nwmuseumarchives.ca and through the museum’s Facebook page.
The New Westminster Museum is located at 777 Columbia Street in the Anvil Centre, New Westminster. The museum is open to the public every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with extended hours on Thursdays to 8 p.m.) Admission is by donation. For more information, call (604) 527-4640 or go to nwmuseumarchives.ca.
