We may have closed our doors for now, but we’re still here to keep you connected to arts, culture, and heritage.
A word from Executive Director Laura Schneider
The Reach @ Home brings exhibitions, education programs, and (safe!) interactive activities right to your living room.
Learn about the fascinating history of our community with at-home teaching resources, take a guided video tour of our exhibitions with one of our curators, and while you’re organizing your closets, don’t forget to share your heirlooms, stories, and photos with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Our Online Photo Archive is always open to you, and if you’re using this time to dig into your own community history project, we are still accepting remote research requests for materials and information.
You’ll find new content here regularly, so check back often!
Call For Artists: Unprecedented Times
The Reach Gallery Museum and the Abbotsford Arts Council are partnering to provide unique, paid opportunities for artists living and working in our community during this unprecedented time. The Call for Artists is now live.
Deadline Friday, May 15: 11:59pm.
VIDEO
Voices of the Valley: Forestry
Check out the first in a series of virtual tours featuring our award winning historical exhibition “Voices of the Valley” led by Curator of Historical Collections, Kris Foulds.
VIDEO
Art on Demand 6.2: Janae Gartly
Curated by Bethany Haynes, Art on Demand 6.2 features work by emerging, Abbotsford-based artist Janae Gartly.
VIDEO
Community Art Space: Newcomers to Canada Project
This video introduces the “Newcomers to Canada Project,” in which artist Linda Klippenstein worked with seventy-five local women through a series of workshops to create a collaborative art project while also building a sense of community.
VIDEO
Various artists: Glimmers of the Radiant Real – Episode 3
Join The Reach’s Curator of Art & Visual Culture on a tour of Glimmers of the Radiant Real. In this third and final virtual tour of the exhibition Glimmers of the Radiant Real, The Reach’s Curator Adrienne Fast discusses Could Cell by Xiaojing Yan.
VIDEO
Various artists: Glimmers of the Radiant Real – Episode 2
Join The Reach’s Curator of Art & Visual Culture on a tour of Glimmers of the Radiant Real. This episode looks closely at work by Sanaz Mazinani and The Broadbent Sisters.
VIDEO
Various artists: Glimmers of the Radiant Real – Episode 1
Join curator Adrienne Fast as she takes you on a tour of Glimmers of the Radiant Real, a multi-artist exhibition organized and circulated by Robert McLaughlin Gallery, in collaboration with the Art Gallery of Peterborough and the McIntosh Gallery.
VIDEO
Caring For Your Family Treasures – Live Presentation
Join Curator of Historical Collections Kris Foulds as she provides important tips on how to properly care for your family’s photos, textiles and artifacts.
Episode 1: Basic Care and Handling
Episode 2: Photos and Paper
Episode 3 (COMING SOON): Clothing and Textiles
VIDEO
Trevor Van Den Eijnden: a soul is not made of atoms Episode 3
Join curator Adrienne Fast as she takes you on part 3 of a tour of Trevor Van Den Eijnden’s exhibition a soul is not made of atoms.
VIDEO
Trevor Van Den Eijnden: a soul is not made of atoms Episode 2
Join curator Adrienne Fast as she takes you on part 2 of a tour of Trevor Van Den Eijnden’s exhibition a soul is not made of atoms.
VIDEO
Trevor Van Den Eijnden: a soul is not made of atoms
Join curator Adrienne Fast as she takes you on a tour of Trevor Van Den Eijnden’s exhibition a soul is not made of atoms.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Whatsits Guessing Game
Kris Foulds, Curator of Historical Collections, has selected 5 objects from our museum collection to showcase and we want YOU to guess what they are!
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Neighbourhood History Walk: Civic Plaza
Self-guided activity: This 30 minute walking tour of Abbotsford’s Civic Plaza explores themes of memory and remembrance related to the neighbourhood and its memorials. This activity is designed to appeal to the whole family, and it fulfills BC Curricular Competencies for high school students grade 9 – 12.
ART ACTIVITY
One Heart, Far Apart: Activity Inspired by Local Artist Linda Klippenstein
Learn how to make paper collage and create a sense of community in a time of physical distancing.
ART ACTIVITY
Build-a-Bug: Activity inspired by contemporary artist Cole Swanson
Try your hand at an art making activity inspired by contemporary artwork in the exhibition Glimmers of the Radiant Real.
ART ACTIVITY
LIVE Sunday Family Arts: BRING INK FIGURES TO LIFE!
Inspired by our regular Sunday Family Arts (SFA) program, The Reach invites you to join us for a live art making session with instructor Austin Kwidzinski. Follow step-by-step instructions to turn your weird and wonderful shapes inkblot shapes, like those in the Rorschach test, into fantastical characters!
The session was streamed through Facebook Live on Friday, May 8 at 1:30pm. Watch it here.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Neighbourhood History Walk: Jubilee Park
Self-guided activity: This 60 minute walking tour describes street names in the Jubilee Park neighbourhood as they relate to the early settlement of Abbotsford. This activity is designed to appeal to the whole family, and it fulfills BC Curricular Competencies for high school students grade 9 – 11.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Then & Now Edukit: How did kids play differently at Mill Lake?
Self-guided activity: Step outside and go on an adventure back in time! In this walking tour activity, discover how kids in history used to play by visiting four special locations around Abbotsford’s Mill Lake, also known as Lekw’óqwem (pronounced Le kwa kwem).
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Extraordinary Drawing: Activity Inspired by Contemporary Artists The Broadbent Sisters
Self-guided activity: Try your hand at an art making activity inspired by contemporary artwork in the exhibition Glimmers of the Radiant Real.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Shadow Box: Activity Inspired by Contemporary Artist Trevor Van den Eijnden and 19th Century Designer William Morris
Self-guided activity: Try your hand at an exciting art making activity, inspired by a solo exhibition by Vancouver-based artist Trevor Van den Eijnden at The Reach Gallery Museum. This activity is designed for high school students and adults.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Explore local history through collage: Semá:th Xotsa (Sumas Lake) and Sumas Prairie
Self-guided activity: Try your hand at collage while learning about Semá:th Xόtsa (Sumas Lake, pronounced seMATH hOTsa).
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Virtual Book Club Inspired by ‘Quiet Spaces’: Discuss The Lure of the Local
Stay engaged and keep your mind active! Join artist and professor Aimée Henny Brown for a virtual discussion of Lucy Lippard’s book The Lure of the Local: Senses of Place in a Multicentred Society. These informal discussions led by Brown will focus on themes relating to the art world, place and landscape, and community.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Quiet Spaces – A Virtual Community Art Space Project by UFV Students
On Friday, May 22 at 7pm PST, The Reach @ Home will host the virtual launch of the Community Art Space e-zine project Quiet Spaces created by students from UFV’s Community Practices class. Responding to rapidly changing social conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the class collaborated on an e-zine or digital publication where each student reflected the questions: What is a quiet place? Why do we search for these places? How does the meaning of these places shift in a time of self-isolation and constant news-feed updates?
After checking out the digital e-zine, you’ll be invited to respond in your own creative way!
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Heritage Drive: Mt. Lehman
Enjoy a self-guided driving tour to 6 local heritage buildings near Mt. Lehman, with detailed information about the sites and how they connect us to the rich history of Abbotsford.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Neighbourhood History Walk: Mill Lake
Self-guided activity: This 60 minute walking tour describes place names in the Mill Lake Park neighbourhood as they relate to the early settlement of Abbotsford. This activity is designed to appeal to the whole family, and it fulfills BC Curricular Competencies for middle school students grade 6 – 8.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Self-Guided Tour
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT