In person or online, we’re here to keep you connected to arts, culture, and heritage.
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!
Shelter in Place is a series of exhibitions, videos, and digital content presented in summer 2020 as a partnership between The Reach and the Abbotsford Arts Council, aimed at providing a platform for local artists whose lives and practices have been affected by COVID-19.
VIDEO
Art on Demand 7.1
Curated by Calvin Bergen, Art on Demand 7.1 features a series of drawings by Yifei Zhang titled Connections, that are inspired by the artist’s biomedical research into the circuitry of the brain.
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VIDEO
Introducing E’yies’lek Rocky LaRock
E’yies’lek Rocky LaRock is a master Stó:lō carver based in Sts’ailes (Chehalis) in the Fraser Valley. The Reach has organized an exhibition “E’yies’lek Rocky LaRock: The Wild Inside” as a long overdue acknowledgement of his 40-year career.
Film by Adam Palmer and Julian Kenchenten
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VIDEO
Rocky LaRock: A Story of Sasquatch
The Reach is happy to share this first in a series of short films with exhibiting artist Rocky LaRock. In this first installation, Rocky shares “A Story of Sasquatch” and the way he honors Sasquatch in his incredible carvings.
Video by Colla Films
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VIDEO
Fiona Howarth: Nazca Landscapes
Throughout the current health crisis, Howarth has split her time between working as an artist and as an ICU nurse. In Howarth’s limited time away from the hospital, her art has been a reprieve from the relentlessness of work within critical care which, in turn, has changed the focus of her photography.
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VIDEO
Semá:th Xó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sxó:tsa / Great Gramma’s Lake
Semá:th Xó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sxó:tsa/Great Gramma’s Lake is a children’s book published by The Reach Gallery Museum, in collaboration with Stólō partners, that tells the story of the draining of Sumas Lake from an Indigenous perspective. Watch this video to hear the see and hear the story narrated by co-authors Thetáx Chris Silver and Xémontélót Carrielynn Victor.
VIDEO
Shelter in Place Group Exhibition
Shelter in Place is a series of exhibitions, videos, and digital content presented in summer 2020 as a partnership between The Reach and the Abbotsford Arts Council, aimed at providing a platform for local artists whose lives and practices have been affected by COVID-19.
Join Adrienne Fast, Curator of Art and Visual Culture, on a virtual tour of Shelter in Place: Group Exhibition. This is the second installment in our Shelter in Place exhibition.
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VIDEO
Art on Demand 6.4
Curated by Cassidy Luteijn, Art on Demand 6.4 features paintings by Karl M. Hipol and photographs by Gloria Wong.
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VIDEO
Shelter in Place: The Kitchen Table
Shelter in Place is a series of exhibitions, videos, and digital content presented in summer 2020 as a partnership between The Reach and the Abbotsford Arts Council, aimed at providing a platform for local artists whose lives and practices have been affected by COVID-19.
Join Adrienne Fast, Curator of Art and Visual Culture, on a virtual tour of Shelter in Place: The Kitchen Table. This third installment in our Shelter in Place exhibition series features a collaborative project by artists Rosa Quintana Lillo and Mike Edwards
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VIDEO
Art on Demand 6.3: Mohadese Movahed
Curated by Cassidy Luteijn, Art on Demand 6.3 features work by Iranian-born, Vancouver-based artist Mohadese Movahead.
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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.
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VIDEO
Something More Than Nothing Exhibition Tour
Join our Curator of Art & Visual Culture on a tour as she looks closely at the work of Aganetha Dyck, Andrew Norman Wilson, and Michael Mandiberg.
VIDEO
Little México Exhibition Tour
Check out our latest virtual exhibition tour with Curator Adrienne Fast featuring Little México by Carlos Colín!
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
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.
VIDEO
Ever Elsewhere Exhibition Tour: Part One
Join The Reach’s Curator of Learning and Community Engagement, Diana Hiebert, as she talks us through one of our current exhibitions, “Ever Elsewhere: Siting a Mennonite Imaginary”. This exhibition features the work of Amalie Atkins, Clint Neufeld, Corinna Wolff, Emily Neufeld, Kandis Friesen, and Lois Klassen.
ਵੀਡੀਓ ਦੇਖੋ
VIDEO
Voices of the Valley Exhibition Tour: Transportation
Tune into the fourth in a series of virtual tours of our award winning historical exhibition Voices of the Valley.
In this episode Kris Foulds, Curator of Historical Collections, discusses the history of transportation in Abbotsford.
VIDEO
Voices of the Valley Exhibition Tour: Transportation
Tune into the third in a series of virtual tours of our award winning historical exhibition Voices of the Valley.
In this episode Kris Foulds, Curator of Historical Collections, discusses the history of brickmaking in Abbotsford.
VIDEO
Voices of the Valley Exhibition Tour: Agriculture
Tune into the second in a series of virtual tours of our award winning historical exhibition Voices of the Valley.
In this episode Kris Foulds, Curator of Historical Collections, discusses the history of agriculture in Abbotsford.
ਵੀਡੀਓ ਦੇਖੋ
VIDEO
The History of Canada Day in Abbotsford
Check out this short, informative video about the history of Canada Day in Abbotsford hosted by Kris Foulds, Curator of Historical Collections here at The Reach!
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
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
Black Hair: A (Long) Hair Story – BC Family Day Video
Join filmmakers Milca Tshimpaka and Jerusalem Amosha as they explore historical and contemporary Black hair practices with stylists from the Fraser Valley.
Supported by the province of British Columbia 
VIDEO
Community Art Space: Masks We Wear
This video introduces the project “Masks We Wear” coordinated by the Mission Overdose Community Action Team with local artist and activist Kat Wahamaa. This project is on display in The Reach’s Community Art Space from September 10 to October 28, 2020.
VIDEO
Reserve 107 Panel Discussion
In conjunction with The Reach’s Fall 2020 exhibitions Ever Elsewhere: Siting a Mennonite Imaginary and Semá:th Xó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sxó:tsa / Great Gramma’s Lake, we are pleased to present this panel discussion that situates issues of land claims and reconciliation between Indigenous and white settler communities in the context of the Fraser Valley. The panel discussion includes Chief Dalton Silver of Sumas First Nation, Chief Andrew Victor of Cheam First Nation, Dr. Keith Carlson and Dr. Wenona Hall from the University of the Fraser Valley, Bridget Findlay from the Mennonite Central Committee of BC, and The Reach’s Curator of Art & Visual Culture Adrienne Fast.
We respectfully acknowledge that The Reach is located on S’ólh Téméxw, in the unceded Stó:lō territory of the Semá:th and Máthekwi First Nations.
VIDEO
Ever Elsewhere Panel Discussion
Join co-curators Adrienne Fast and Diana Hiebert in conversation with several of the artists included in the exhibition Ever Elsewhere: Siting a Mennonite Imaginary, as they discuss how their Mennonite heritage impacts their work, how they are dealing with the events of 2020, and the responsibilities of white arts and culture workers in the movement for racial justice.
VIDEO
Community-wide Shoebox Parade!
Check out our Community-Wide Shoebox Parade to celebrate Canada Day! We invited the community to send in images of their home-made parade float on the theme of: My Favourite Thing About Abbotsford. See if you can spot your creation in the virtual parade!
This program is made possible through generous support from Prospera Credit Union.
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.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Virtual Family Literacy Day
<p”>January 27 | All Day
Check out our exciting virtual activities and prizes to help you safely celebrate Family Literacy Day this year!
Virtual Scavenger Hunt & Prize Draw
Practice your virtual detective skills in this virtual scavenger hunt for a chance to win a copy of the children’s book Semá:th Xó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sxó:tsa!
Virtual Scavenger Hunt Instructions:
- Download the scavenger hunt worksheet here.
- Snoop around our online portal The Reach@Home to answer the clues!
- Email your completed scavenger hunt worksheet to Diana Hiebert by 7:00 PM on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.
- Your entry will be placed in a random prize draw, and winners of the prize draw will be contacted via the email.
Read Along with Semá:th Xó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sxó:tsa
Let’s celebrate cultural literacy by learning Halq’eméylem! On January 27 gather with your family “bubble” to watch the telling of Semá:th Xó:tsa: Sts’ólemeqwelh Sxó:tsa narrated by co-authors Thetáx Chris Silver and Xémontélót Carrielynn Victor. This short read along video available on our website tells the story of Sumas Lake from an Indigenous perspective and includes a pronunciation guide to the Halq’eméylem words featured in the story. This video is based on a current exhibition and children’s book recently published by The Reach Gallery Museum, in collaboration with Stó:lō partners.
COMMUNITY ART
Masks We Wear and Positive Resistance Quilt in the Community Art Space
COVID 19 has impacted another health emergency – the Opioid Health Emergency. This season, the Community Art Space at The Reach Gallery Museum features Masks We Wear and Positive Resistance Quilt– two projects that look at different aspects of this crisis.
ART ACTIVITY
Virtual Sunday Family Arts Paper City: Experiment with Paper Sculpture Techniques
In this virtual art making session, learn different paper cutting techniques and the concept of juxtaposition of forms as we build an industrial cityscape using delicate colored construction paper. Instead of being a cold, dark and rigid cityscape, our creations will be vibrant, decorative, and fragile. Class facilitator Austin Kwidzinksi will teach participants to experiment with shape and line to create your own paper cityscape! This is a virtual session was streamed through Facebook Live on Sunday, October 18 at 1:30pm.
ART ACTIVITY
Virtual Sunday Family Arts – Symbols and Street Art: An Art Lesson Inspired by the Street Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring
In this virtual art making session, learn about street art by famous artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Class facilitator Austin Kwidzinksi will teach participants to experiment with text, symbol, colour, and line to create your own personal style! This is a virtual session that was streamed through Facebook Live on Sunday, October 4 at 1:30pm.
ART ACTIVITY
Friday Family Arts: Fun with Flipbook Animation
In this live art making session, build your own flipbook while learning about animation fundamentals such as pose-to-pose, timing, and staging from our talented instructor Austin Kwidzinski!
This is a virtual session that will be streamed through Facebook Live on Friday, August 14 at 1:30pm.
ART ACTIVITY
Go Play Outside Culture Kit
Pick up your own free Culture Kit at an Abbotsford park near you. Each Culture Kit contains an exciting, hands-on art making activity developed by The Reach Gallery Museum in partnership with the City of Abbotsford. The activity is inspired by Cloud Cell, a sculptural installation by Chinese Canadian artist Xiaojing Yan that is part of the exhibition Glimmers of the Radiant Real.
ART ACTIVITY
Friday Family Arts: My Surrealist Elephant
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 in this first installment of Friday Family Arts.
Be inspired by surrealist painter Salvador Dali and learn to create your own dreamy scene that features an elephant with a great personality!
This is a virtual session that was streamed through Facebook Live on Friday, July 10 at 1:30pm. You can view it here!
ART ACTIVITY
Pandemic Postcard Project
Starting Friday, July 3, pick up a postcard at one of our participating venues and use it to record your memories of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Write a message or draw a picture that will remind your future self of your experiences during this time.
Drop off your postcard at The Reach and selected cards will become part of The Reach’s archive for future generations.
ART ACTIVITY
My View from Work: Activity Inspired by Contemporary Artist Michael Mandiberg
Self-guided activity: Learn about how artist Michael Mandiberg is making artwork about hidden and invisible labour in the exhibition Something More than Nothing. Use your own workspace as inspiration for a fun activity that fulfills BC Curricular Competencies for middle school students grade 6 – 8.
ART ACTIVITY
Painted Flower Pots: Activity Inspired by Contemporary Artist Carlos Colín
Self-guided activity: This activity is inspired by contemporary artwork in the exhibition Little México and fulfills BC Curricular Competencies for middle school students grade 6 – 8.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Neighbourhood History Walk: Abbotsford’s Faces of Forestry, 1903-1935
Self-guided activity: This 60 minute walking tour of Mill Lake explores Abbotsford’s immigrant population early in the 20th century, focusing on significant people who worked for the Abbotsford Lumber Company and came from South Asian, Japanese, British, and European families. This activity fulfills BC Curricular Competencies for high school students grade 9 – 12.
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 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).
ART CLASS
Story-Bound Book: Learn the Long Stitch
October 20
Taught by local professional artist Ember Munnin of CAVE / PHASE studio, this class will offer more than just the technical aspects of book-binding, it will also guide students through the development of an artful personal narrative while learning several techniques for binding your story together! The focus of the class will be the long stitch binding method – a centuries-old technique originated in medieval Germany – but students will also try their hands at how to make a 5-minute “instant book” and a 15-minute chapbook.
$85 for 2 hours of instruction
Adults aged 16+
ART CLASS
Story-Bound Book: Learn the Blanket Stitch
October 6
Taught by local professional artist Ember Munnin of CAVE / PHASE studio, this class will focus on the blanket stitch method, but students will also try their hands at making a 5-minute “instant book” and a 15-minute chapbook. Munnin will guide participants through an exploration of narrative construction as they learn different binding methods.
$85 for 2 hours of instruction
Adults aged 16+
ART CLASS
Virtual Sunday Family Arts
October to December, join us for a series of virtual art making sessions with instructor Austin Kwidzinski, inspired by our regular Sunday Family Arts (SFA) program. Gather the household for a fun craft session that you can stream from Facebook Live from the comfort of your own home.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Virtual Book Club: Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
Explore the countercultural art of slowing down and nurturing your imagination. Join artist and professor Aimée Henny Brown for a virtual discussion of Jenny Odell’s book How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. These informal discussions will consider our current experience of being “isolated in-place” and will challenge/explore ideas of productivity, objects, and labour.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Take a Walk, Take a Drive, Take a Photo
Here’s your chance to WIN some ice cream! Kris Foulds, Curator of Historical Collections, has selected 4 archival photographs that show locations related to summer fun. Guess where the photo was taken then then walk or dive to location and take of photo of yourself there, then enter to win!
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Climate Change Art in the Virtual Community Art Space: A Project by Art Activism High School Students
Climate Change Art is a virtual exhibition made by students in Robert Bateman Secondary School’s Art Activism Class and The Reach Gallery Museum.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Gardening in Quarantine
Enter to win a $50 gift certificate to the Abbotsford Farm & Country Market! Whether you’ve got a green thumb or a room full of dead plants, we want to see photos of the gardening you’ve been doing during the COVID-19 lockdown. Email your photos to info@thereach.ca or post to Instagram and tag @thereachgallery for a chance to win.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Community-Wide Shoebox Parade!
Submission Deadline EXTENDED to June 14, 2020 at 11:59 pm
We’re inviting everyone to make a home-made parade float on the theme of: My Favourite Thing About Abbotsford. Submit a photo of your float and it will be featured in a collaborative video that will premiere on July 1 for Canada Day!
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