Past Events

Bikepacking has brought a whole new meaning to backcountry adventures as it continues to grow internationally. Bikepackers all over the globe are creating new routes, and connecting dirt, gravel, and other somewhat questionable ‘roads’ together to form long-distance adventure routes via bicycle. Jenny Schmidt spent six weeks traveling from San Diego, CA, to Corpus Christi, TX, connecting the first series of gravel/dirt roads along the Mexico/US border. Learn about the arduous challenges of building a route through politically charged areas and the beautiful array of humans, animals, and environments she encountered along the way.

In the spirit of the Smithsonian Museums, which offer free admission every day, Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country, including the Whatcom Museum, open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket—for free! Usually held in September, this year’s Museum Day Live! will be celebrated in April to coincide with the Smithsonian’s Earth Optimism Summit. The ticket grants access to both the Lightcatcher building and Old City Hall. Visit smithsonianmag.com/museumday/ for more info.

The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality presents 89 hats and headdresses carefully selected from a private collection of more than 1300 extraordinary pieces of international headwear. This exhibition features hats from 42 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America, and is a tribute to the stunning diversity of the world’s cultures. With a few exceptions, the pieces are from the mid-to-late 20th century, and many are still worn today in parts of the world for revelry, ritual, and the rhythms of everyday life. The Global Language of Headwear is organized into five thematic sections: Cultural Identity; Power, Prestige, and Status; Ceremonies and Celebrations; Spiritual Beliefs; and Protection. The Museum will also present a variety of headwear from its permanent collection in conjunction with this collection, including Northwest Coast cedar bark hats. Organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC, and independent curator Stacey W. Miller.

We're pleased to kick off an exhibition partnership with the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) as we present three masterworks from one of the nation’s most treasured collections of American art. Made possible through the support of Art Bridges and the Terra Foundation for American Art, Conversations Between Collections will highlight these three works in conversation with select works from the Whatcom Museum’s permanent collection in the Lightcatcher’s first-floor gallery and in the People of the Sea and Cedar exhibit.

Two countries – two photographers. This compelling collection of photographs presents two views of internment and incarceration in the early 1940s. The 1942 incarceration of people of Japanese descent in the United States and Canada following the bombing of Pearl Harbor is portrayed through this stunning collection of black and white photographs. Ansel Adams and Leonard Frank document the conditions and experiences of the Manzanar camp in California, and the camps and beet farms in Alberta, where coastal British Columbia residents were forcibly moved.