Arctic Encounters

In August 2015, the Vancouver Maritime Museum sent staff aboard a One Ocean Expeditions cruise ship travelling through the Arctic to present an exhibition that focuses on John Franklin and the European efforts to find the Northwest Passage. This, however, is only one side of a multifaceted story. The Vancouver Maritime Museum staff also took this opportunity to document their experience in the Arctic through photographs as well as to solicit images from local community members, including the archivist of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, who provided photographs of contemporary life in the Arctic.

Arctic Encounters presents audiences with unique views of the modern Northwest Passage and the people who call the Arctic home. Photographs from the Pond Inlet archives are presented alongside the photographs of the museum staff’s Arctic trip, revealing the contemporary social and environmental landscapes of Canada’s Far North.