MOA and the Reflecting Pool feature a stunning image of the museum at sunset. Behind the Museum, the Great Hall looks onto the Yosef Wosk Reflecting Pool, which provides a dynamic presence that animates the site and reflects the ever-changing sky. The Great Hall featuring sculptures, textiles, bentwood boxes, feast dishes and canoes from the Northwest Coast is a spectacular space created by 15 metre high walls of glass and displays large poles, house posts and carved figures, mostly from the mid-19th century. Arthur Erickson was the world-renowned architect who designed MOA’s current award-winning building. He was a strong advocate for cultural awareness, which was frequently apparent in his architectural designs. His work often reflected an intricate use of space and light, as evident in his design of MOA’s Great Hall and gallery spaces. Erickson is quoted as saying “When you design a museum, the important thing is to ask questions about the real nature of the institution… how can it make a valid contribution to our lives.” What did Erickson mean by this statement? How does the architecture of a museum impact the visitor’s experience?

The Haida Houses. Along the path to the back of the museum feature a Haida House and Mortuary House constructed by Haida artist Bill Reid and ‘Namgis artist Doug Cranmer and modelled on a 19th century Haida village.  Around the reflecting pool are memorial and mortuary poles dating from 1951 to the present carved by Jim Hart (Haida), Chief Walter Harris (Gitxsan) and Mungo Martin (Kwakwaka’wakw).

Raven and the First Men at the Bill Reid Rotunda is perhaps the most iconic work of art at MOA, illustrating a Haida creation story. Architect Arthur Erickson designed the space especially for the sculpture to be installed. The Raven and the First Men was placed on one of the three circular WWII concrete gun emplacements incorporated into MOA’s building, allowing viewers to see the work from multiple angles. The bright skylight installed above the sculpture and surrounding sand brought by children from Rose Spit, Haida Gwaii breathes new life and meaning into the older architectural features of the emplacement. MOA has the world’s largest collection of works by Haida artist Bill Reid. Raven and the First Men was commissioned by Walter and Marianne Koerner and unveiled by HRH the Prince of Wales in 1980. It depicts a moment in the ancestral past of the Haida people when Raven found the first humans in a clamshell on the beach. For many years, this work was featured on the Canadian $20 dollar bill.