About NVMA

About the North Vancouver Museum & Archives

NVMA encourages you to explore North Vancouver’s fascinating history, to share your stories, research people and neighbourhoods, experience exhibitions, and advance your understanding of local people, cultures, and history. The Museum & Archives preserves historically valuable community records and artifacts; it makes them meaningful and accessible to the public by organizing exhibitions, delivering educational programs, caring for collections, and providing access to archival information.

NVMA Bulletin

Keep up to date on the events and news of the Museum and Archives through our quarterly Bulletin. Stories of our recent artefact and archival acquisitions, oral history highlights, news of a new museum and our upcoming events are highlighted. e-Bulletins are posted in the right hand column.

NVMA History

The NVMA was founded in 1972 as the North Shore Museum & Archives. Since 1996 it has been governed by the North Vancouver Museum & Archives Commission, a joint civic properties commission operated under the auspices of the City and the District of North Vancouver.

NVMA Profile

The Museum & Archives Commission employs NVMA staff members, fulfills a governance role and provides strategic direction to NVMA. According to its founding by-laws, the Museum & Archives acts as the “sole custodian of the City and District cultural, archival and museum collections.” The Museum collects and preserves aspects of the material culture of North Vancouver and cares for approximately 20,000 historic artifacts of local and regional importance. The Archives collects, preserves, and provides access to the documentary heritage of North Vancouver, including public records created by both municipalities, as well as thousands of private records, archival documents, and photographs that document the lives and experiences of residents, business, and community organizations.

NVMA Annual Report

For more information about the NVMA’s activities and programs, and to learn more about recent acquisitions for both the Museum and the Archives view the Annual Report 2010.

Partners and Supporters

NVMA regularly works with other community organizations, including the Friends of the North Vancouver Museum & Archives Society, the North Shore Historical Society, School District #44, Squamish Nation Education Department, North Vancouver Recreation Commission, North Vancouver District Public Library and the North Shore Preservation Society.

Funding

The North Vancouver Museum & Archives Commission receives operating support from the City of North Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver, and the Government of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council. Special project funding is regularly received from other sources such as the federal Department of Canadian Heritage, Young Canada Works, and Service Canada.

North Vancouver Museum & Archives Commission

Members of the 11-person Museum & Archives Commission include City appointees Catharine Downes, Matti Polychronis, Sepideh Sarrafpour, Robert D. Watt and Councillor Don Bell. District appointees include Daniel Francis, Doug Colby, Sanford Osler (Vice-Chair), Blair Trousdell, and Councillor Robin Hicks. Chair of the Commission and Friends Society appointee is Robert (Bob) Heywood.