Ceremonial signing of the contract between the Dresden State Art Collections with their museum the Saxonian State Ethnographic Collections and the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay

Friday, 19 February 2010

The exhibition “The Great Potlatch Gift-Giving Customs and Economies of Plenty” will be presented in Dresden and Alert Bay from June to September 2011 and compares gift-giving customs as a social and economic exchange. The contract for this cooperation will be signed on February 19th in the Saxony House, Vancouver Rowing Club.

Bill Cranmer, Chief of the ‘Namgis First Nation, one of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations, and the Prime Minister of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, will join the event, as well as representatives of the two museums. It will be accompanied by the songs of Kwakwaka'wakw singers and an artist from the Erz Mountains of Saxony.

7:00 – app. 9:00 pm

Opening speeches of Chief Bill Cranmer, Chief of the ‘Namgis First Nation, Stanislaw Tillich, Prime Minister of Saxony and Martin Roth, general director of the Dresden State Art collections

Signing of the contract between the Dresden State Art Collections with their museum the Saxonian State Ethnographic Collections and the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay

First Nations songs by Kwakwaka'wakw – singers and traditional Saxonian songs by Andreas Beck

followed by drinks & snacks