Wayfinding: Stories of Maps & Place

The exhibition opened on March 26 and will continue through December 2023.

Wayfinding is about how we navigate and understand the world around us. It is about paying close attention and engaging all our senses, memory, reasoning, and imagination to get where we need to go. On Cortes, this means getting to know diverse terrains and dynamic waters, and the knowledge and lived experience of this unique place is passed between generations or communities in many ways.

This exhibition explores some of those tangible forms. It offers cultural, social and environmental perspectives on Cortes and the surrounding region through historic maps, charts, navigational instruments and artifacts from the Museum’s collections and archives, many on display for the first time. Community groups and individuals have also contributed their mapping projects and belongings to broaden the scope of this exhibition.

Come explore the works of local artists, historians, or geographers, create a star chart, write a postcard in our hands-on area, or spend time in a reimagining of local writer Gilean Douglas’ cabin. There is plenty here to stimulate your curiosity and appreciation of this place and its people.

Read more…

Cortes Island Navigation Chart
Cortes Island Ecosystem Mapping
Cortes Lake Mapping Project

Exhibitions Curators and Contributors

Melanie Boyle (Lead Curator)
Exhibition Committee: Monika Hoffmann, Nancy Kendel, Bonnie MacDonald, Donna Manson, Jill Milton

Many thanks to those who worked to organized and shape this exhibition.

Keep Exploring

Reflecting Light
2022 Reflecting Light: Portraying Joy Photographs 2012 – 2022   The exhibition, opened on Sunday, April 24, 2022 with last day on Saturday, July 2, 2022. Artist’s Statement I’ve loved...
The Suitcase Project
2022 The Suitcase Project by Kayla Isomura Cortes Island Museum & Archives July 6 to November 29, 2022 Opening, July 10, 2 – 4 p.m. “If you were going to...
That Was Then / This Is Now
2021 That Was Then / This Is Now This exhibition is a look back at the past two decades since the Cortes Island Museum & Archives has been open to...
Curiouser & Curiouser
2020/2021 It could be said “Curiosity as a value in itself” was the idea at the beginning of the Renaissance and Europe’s slow emergence from the Dark Ages. This Cortes...
Blue Heron Comes to School
2019 Blue Heron Comes to School curated by Jane Newman with the co-operation of Cortes Island School and Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI), 2018/2019
Manson’s Lagoon
1998 – MANSON’S LAGOON, YEAR OF THE OCEANS Curated and mounted by Bonnie MacDonald and Sabina Leader Mense The Museum hosted the first exhibit in recognition of the International Year of...
Refuge Cove Exhibit
2017 Refuge Cove: Moving with the Tide The exhibition filled the main gallery and featured iconic paintings by Judith Williams, archival photographs, diaries, and videotaped conversations with some of the...
Community Quilt
2017 Community Quilt – Canada 150 Project hɛkʷ čɛ θ tuwa? // where do you come from? // d’où venez-vous? Where were you born? Where did you live before you...
Island Gardens – Early 1900s
2002 – ISLAND GARDENS OF THE EARLY 1900s (Curated by Donna McLaren and Jill Milton) This exhibit filled a corner in the Museum’s entrance lobby.  It was a revelation to see...