[Bcma-l] [Fwd: West Vancouver Museum News]
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Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:11:14 -0800
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: West Vancouver Museum News
Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:47:01 -0700
From: Kiriko Watanabe <kwatanabe@westvancouver.ca>
To: <bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 25, 2007
BEHIND THE WIRE
THE WARTIME DIARY AND ART OF ROBERT BUCKHAM
(WEST VANCOUVER, B.C.) - Opening November 7, 2007 and running through to
February 9, 2008, the West Vancouver Museum presents BEHIND THE WIRE:
THE WARTIME DIARY AND ART OF ROBERT BUCKHAM. The exhibition features
evocative illustrations of WWII from artist Robert Buckham's prisoner of
war diary, journal and artwork. Also included are illustrations and
paintings the artist produced after the war.
On his tenth bombing sortie over Germany on April 8, 1943, Captain
Robert Buckham and the crew of his Wellington MK.III bomber were downed
near Dusseldorf. Miraculously, the entire crew survived. Buckham was
captured and imprisoned in the infamous prisoner of war camp Salag Luft
III in Sagan, Germany. In his illustrated war time diaries, Buckham
recorded his internment, the trials of day to day existence, the failed
"great escape" popularized by the Hollywood movie and his eventual
"forced march to freedom" through one of Europe's coldest winters.
Buckham concealed his precious diary and drawings in old milk cans in
order to protect them during the months he and over 10, 000 other PoWs
endured a forced march in the dead of winter westward through Germany in
front of the Russian advance. Those who survived were eventually
liberated and in 1945, Buckham returned to Canada to resume his career
as an illustrator and artist. His drawings of Canada's countryside and
cityscapes graced the pages of the Globe and Mail for many years. His
art was inspired by nature and local landscapes, as well as his frequent
travels.
Get Informed!
Guest Speaker Series
A number of special Behind the Wire public programs are scheduled in
conjunction with the exhibition. Distinguished scholars, humanitarians,
survivors of war and experts in their fields offer a series of talks on
issues related to international conflicts and consequences of war. Stay
tuned for more talks currently being scheduled for January and February
2008.
November 7, 2007, 7-9pm
Behind the Wire Exhibit Opening and Reception
Special Guest: Katy Hedalen, Vocalist performs We'll Meet Again
We'll Meet Again, composed by Ross Parker and lyrics by Hughe Charles
was popularized by British singer Vera Lynn during World War II. The
song resonated with soldiers who were going off to war leaving their
loved ones behind. West Vancouver soprano singer Katy Hedalen sings
We'll Meet Again as a special tribute to those who served and dedicated
their lives.
November 14, 7-8:30pm
Guest speaker: Major Harjit Sajjan, Reservist, British Columbia
Regiment, Reconnaissance Squadron
Topic: The Canadian Forces in Afghanistan Protecting
Canadians-Rebuilding Afghanistan
Major Harjit Saijan, a Reservist with the British Columbia Regiment
where he is Officer Commanding, Reconnaissance Squadron served in
Afghanistan in 2006 under Brigadier General David Fraser, Commander of
the Multi-National Brigade. Major Sajjan shares his personal experiences
and discusses the Canadian Forces contribution in Afghanistan.
November 21, 7-8:30pm
Guest speaker: Lauryn Oates, Vice-President, Canadian Women for Women in
Afghanistan
Topic: Women and War in Afghanistan
Lauryn Oates is a professional human rights advocate and international
development practitioner, with expertise in gender and women's human
rights. Since 1996, Oates has worked as an activist for women's rights
in Afghanistan as founder of the Vancouver and Montreal Chapters of the
non-profit solidarity network, Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan.
She managed the CIDA-funded Women's Rights in Afghanistan Fund and other
projects supporting women's movements and peace building in the Middle
East and Central Asia from 2002-2006 at the International Centre for
Human Rights and Democratic Development. Her talk focuses on how the
ongoing war in Afghanistan has affected the lives of Afghan women.
November 27, 7pm at the West Vancouver Memorial Library (1950 Marine
Drive, West Vancouver)
Special guest: David Paperny, President, Paperny Films
Documentary Screening of Forced March to Freedom, Paperny Films, 2001
David Paperny's documentary film Forced March to Freedom, is based on a
book of the same name written and illustrated by Robert Buckham. The
film illustrates the experiences of Canadian air personnel imprisoned in
German PoW camps during World War II.
At the end of the Second World War, ten thousand prisoners of war
anticipated liberation courtesy the advancing Russian Red Army. The
retreating Germans forced the prisoners to march out of Stalag Luft III
in the dead of winter toward the center of a collapsing Third Reich in
order to keep the PoW's as hostages. Forced March to Freedom tells the
story of this amazing test of endurance through the eyes of Robert
Buckham, a bomber pilot and artist who produced countless sketches and
watercolours of prison camp life, as well as one of the only chronicles
of the forced march itself. Interviews with Buckham and other PoW's
accentuate the sketches of camp life and the march as well as the few
actual photographs of the march known to exist. The film producer David
Paperny gives you the inside account of making the documentary film.
November 28, 7-8:30pm
Guest speaker: Brian Seward, MMM.CD, Rtd., 6 Field Engineer Squadron,
North Vancouver
Topic: Close to Home: Peace Keeping Missions Abroad
Brian L. Seward came to Canada after serving in the Royal Navy and
Merchant Navy from 1944 to 1955. He joined the 6th Field Engineers
Squadron in North Vancouver in 1962 as a Sapper and served 28 years in
all ranks up to Sergeant-Major and Captain. Served in NATO (Germany) in
1972, he attended numerous joint exercises with the US 407th Engineers,
building bridges, repairing roads and removing explosives. Seward was
awarded the Order of Military Merit for his dedicated and exceptional
service by Governor General Edward Schreyer in Ottawa 1980.
December 5, 7-8:30pm
Guest speaker: Charles O. Lomudak, Settlement Worker, Vancouver School
Board;
Volunteer, UNICEF Canada
Topic: Born and Raised in War in Sudan
Since 1983, the ongoing civil war in Sudan caused the death of nearly
two million people-one in five of the southern Sudanese population. When
the war broke out, Charles Lomudak was only 10 years old. As the war
intensified, homes were burned down, many Sudanese were repeatedly
tortured, and thousands of boys were forced to become red army soldiers
by the rebels. Lomudak and his family hid in bushes during the day,
barely keeping themselves alive by eating wild plants and fruits, and
traveled after dark moving away from the fighting. He spent several
years in refugee camps in neighbouring countries, lost two brothers due
to the war and was recently reunited with his mother after 21 years of
separation. In this talk, Lomudak gives his personal account of growing
up in Sudan where he endured unimaginable brutality.
January 16, 2008, 7-8:30pm
Guest speaker: Jenny Peterson, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Political
Science Department, University of British Columbia
Topic: Rebuilding Kosovo: The Pros and Cons of Eight Years of
International Intervention
Jenny Peterson is a Post-Doctoral fellow at the University of British
Columbia where she teaches courses related to political violence. Her
research, which focuses on 'war economies' and peace-building
initiatives in post conflict states, took her to Kosovo in 2005 and 2006
where she lived and conducted research on the difficulties of rebuilding
and preparing the territory for its as of yet unknown future.
January 30, 2008, 7-8:30pm
Guest speaker: Benjamin Perrin, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law,
University of British Columbia
Topic: Prosecuting Nazi War Criminals: Examining the Foundation of
Modern War Crimes Trials
Benjamin Perrin is an Assistant Professor at the UBC Faculty of Law, and
is a Faculty Associate at the Liu Institute for Global Issues. His
teaching and research interests include domestic and international
criminal law, international humanitarian law, comparative constitutional
law and human trafficking. Professor Perrin has advised judges at modern
war crimes tribunals, including the Special Court for Sierra Leone and
the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The
Hague. He will discuss the legacy of the post-World War II war crimes
tribunals and their contribution to modern efforts to bring war
criminals to justice in countries like Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia
and the former Yugoslavia.
Admission to the Behind the Wire Speaker Series is by donation. All
proceeds made through these programs will be donated to charities in
support of humanitarian activities.
The West Vancouver Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to
5pm. For further information on these and other programs, please contact
the West Vancouver Museum or visit www.westvanmuseum.blogspot.com.
West Vancouver Museum
680 17th Street
West Vancouver, BC V7V 3T2
Tel: 604-925-7295
Fax: 604-925-5915
<http://www.westvanmuseum.blogspot.com/>
www.wvma.net <blocked::http://www.wvma.net/>
www.westvanmuseum.blogspot.com
<blocked::http://www.westvanmuseum.blogspot.com/>
Contact: Kiriko Watanabe
Assistant Curator
604-925-7179
kwatanabe@westvancouver.ca
-30-
The West Vancouver Museum is operated by the District of West Vancouver
Parks & Community Services Department. The support of British Columbia
Arts Council - Province of BC; Department of Canadian Heritage, Young
Canada Works in Heritage Institutions; the West Vancouver Historical
Society; Museum Volunteers and Visitors; and Sponsors and Donors is
gratefully acknowledged. The West Vancouver Museum thanks the financial
support of Mercedes-Benz and North Shore News for this exhibition and
Speaker Series.
On display at the West Vancouver Museum:
THE BLACK SLIP: THE PAINTING OF JANE BILLAUX
September 15-October 27, 2007
Open: Tue-Sat, 11-5pm
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