Slow down and take a walking tour of outdoor art on the UBC campus. Guided tours feature selected works from UBC’s Outdoor Art Collection and vary in length from 1 to 1.5 hours. Tours are conversational, participation-driven and can be adapted for a wide range of ages and groups. If there are other works or themes you are interested in discussing, please contact Naomi Sawada, Manager of Public Programs at naomi.sawada@ubc.ca.

Decolonization Tour

90 minutes, 1.5-2 km

The Decolonization Tour highlights site-specific artworks by Indigenous artists and raises questions around issues of place, space and identity. Considering how these works address urgent social and political concerns, we’ll discuss ideas of settler colonialism, decolonization, reconciliation and the history of UBC’s Vancouver campus, which is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.

Includes works by:

• Brent Sparrow Jr. (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), sʔi:ɬqəy̓ qeqən (2016)
• Ellen Neel (Kwakwaka’wakw), Victory Through Honour (1948/2004)
• Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds (Cheyanne, Arapaho), Native Hosts (1991/2007)
• 7idansuu (Edenshaw) James Hart (Haida), Reconciliation Pole: Honouring a Time Before, During and After Canada’s Indian Residential Schools (2015-17)

This tour is offered regularly throughout the winter and spring. Below are the dates for January through April.

• • Friday, 17 February 2023 at 2 PM
  • Friday, 17 March 2023 at 2 PM
  • Friday, 21 April 2023 at 2 PM

Tours are free, but because space is limited, booking a spot in advance is required. To book a spot please email belkin.tours@ubc.ca, and specify the tour date in your email.

Can’t make the dates above? Decolonization Tours can be booked in advance for groups of ten people or more by contacting Naomi Sawada, Manager of Public Programs at naomi.sawada@ubc.ca. For private tours, we are currently fully booked until April.

Before joining us on the Decolonization Tour, we encourage you to read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

Ecologies and Economies Tour

1 hour,  0.5 km

The Ecologies and Economies Tour highlights artworks that engage with themes related to both social ecologies and the natural world, and people’s relationship with their surroundings on campus. We’ll discuss ideas around nature, culture, climate change and social change.

Includes works by:

• Holly Schmidt, Fireweed Fields (2021-)
• Myfanwy Macleod, Wood For the People (2002)
• Rodney Graham, Millennial Time Machine (2003) *closed during rainy weather
• Esther Shalev-Gerz, The Shadow (2018)

The Ecologies and Economies Tours can be booked in advance for groups of ten people or more by contacting Naomi Sawada, Manager of Public Programs at naomi.sawada@ubc.ca.

For all tours, please wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella in case of rain.

Self-Guided Tours

Don’t have time to book a tour?  Enjoy a self-guided tour at your own pace.

Download a copy of our Outdoor Art Tour book (PDF) and qeqən: Musqueam House Posts book (PDF) or pick up a copy at the gallery. Suggested routes take about 20 minutes to walk, while a full tour of all the artworks takes about three hours.

Image (above): Weiyi Chang speaking about Rodney Graham’s Millennial Time Machine (2003) on August 16, 2016. Photo: Josephina Back.