Lifeways 

          Lifeways explores the formation of a global identity by reimagining the community, spirit and place we know as Haida Gwaii. It is a set of animated stories inspired by the supernatural beings found in Haida mythology. The stories reflect on self, community and spirit - an epic of humanity and nature coming together under the pressures of social, environmental, economic and political unrest.

Bringing together local Haida, academics, storytellers and an international group of design students, the exhibition showcases a process of reciprocity and reconciliation.

The animated stories in Lifeways hybridize architectural drawing techniques and cultural narratives. While the consciousness of an interconnected world continues to develop, globalization exposes each one of us to a wider range of material cultures and lifestyles. The exhibition reimagines various lifeways through the application of regenerative infrastructure and cultural flows alongside mythic beings of supernatural powers.

How do these flows that modify who we are, provide a renewed identity? How does global awareness of local knowledge and the sense of self, community and place morph our perceptions? Our identities are no longer tied to a single place but to an interconnected global network of relations.

These videos & the accompanying exhibition at the Bill Reid Gallery was made by UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture students, for the Lifeways Studio taught  by Adjunct Professor, Annie Liang & Haida Knowledge Holder and Curator, Kwi Jones in Fall of 2020.