VICTORIA, BC – With only one month left to see S’abadeb – The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists, the Royal BC Museum (RBCM) and members of the Coast Salish community present a public discussion on artistic traditions.

On Feb. 11, Thursday Night at the Museum Café: New Perspectives on Coast Salish Art brings together forum panellists Chief Janice George and Buddy Joseph (Squamish weavers whose works are featured in the S’abadeb exhibition), Tom Sampson (Tsartlip elder, linguist and cultural teacher) and Martha Black (RBCM curator of ethnology).

What:    Thursday Night at the Museum Café: New Perspectives on Coast Salish Art

When:   Thursday, Feb. 11, 7 - 9 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

Where:  Royal Museum Café through the lobby of the Royal BC Museum

Cost:      Adults: $8 in advance or $10 day of discussion
Seniors, students or members: $6 in advance or $8 day of discussion

S’abadeb – The Gifts: PacificCoast Salish Art and Artists, at the RBCM until March 8, 2010, brings together 165 ancient and contemporary works of art from the Coast Salish peoples of BC and Washington state. Featuring items on loan from individuals and institutions around the world, including eight from the Royal BC Museum, S’abadeb explores concepts of property, status, trade, ancestors and family within Coast Salish communities.  

S’abadeb is supported by a number of organizations, including BC Hydro (local sponsor); SeattleArt Museum (organizing institution); and the Henry Luce Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities and Boeing Company (sponsors for the Seattle exhibition).

As the provincial museum and archives, the Royal BC Museum preserves and shares the stories of British Columbia – on-site, off-site and online – through its research, collections, exhibitions and educational programs. Its two-hectare cultural precinct also includes a number of historically significant buildings and First Nations sites.    

For more information on the Royal BC Museum’s latest activities, events and exhibitions, visit www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca or call 1-888-447-7977.