University of Alberta Museums

05/20/2026

Starting May 21, get up close with the Mactaggart Collection at the Edmonton Public Library’s Stanley Milner location digital wall exhibit - Echoes of Thunder.

Textiles from the U of A's Mactaggart Art Collection depict dragons as auspicious symbols of power, a role that has secured their position as popular symbols throughout the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties to the present day. The Chinese dragon "龙" (long) is a mythical shape-shifting beast that symbolizes wisdom, benevolence, authority, and good fortune. Ancient stories describe dragons as able to control rain, exhale cloud vapour, soar through the atmosphere and dive deep into bodies of water.

View the schedule: https://www2.epl.ca/wall/

05/01/2026

Qi Zhang, Graduate Research Assistant for the Mactaggart Art Collection, explores Wang Hui’s Jinshan – A Stopping Point on the Kangxi Emperor’s Southern Inspection Tour handscroll and the Nanxun shengdian.

https://www.ualberta.ca/en/museums/news/2026/may/seeing-jinshan.html

03/26/2026

Employment Opportunity!

With the assistance of Young Canada Works, the U of A Museums invites applications for a focused and detail-oriented Pre-Migration Data Technician to assist with the pre-migration phase of our multi-year, multi-phase collections management system renewal project!

More details: https://www.ualberta.ca/en/museums/about/employment.html

03/11/2026

Our Art in Focus articles take an in-depth look at items in the U of A Art Collection. In the latest spotlight, April Dean discusses "SHED" (2018), a photograph from a series titled: Akunnirun Kuupak by Kablusiak, an Inuvialuk artist based in Alberta. Read more at the link.

https://www.ualberta.ca/en/museums/news/2026/march/kablusiak.html

Photo credit: Akunnirun Kuupak Series: SHED, 2018; Ink on paper; photograph; Kablusiak: Born Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, 1993; University of Alberta Museums Art Collection, University of Alberta Museums; 2021.1.2

02/26/2026

Museums program assistant, Max, takes a closer look at horse motifs in the Mactaggart Art Collection.

https://www.ualberta.ca/en/museums/news/2026/february/reigning-it-in.html

02/19/2026

Take a virtual tour of the auspicious symbols displayed throughout the clothing and textiles in the Mactaggart Art Collection.

Take a tour of the auspicious symbols displayed throughout the clothing and textiles in the Mactaggart Art Collection.

02/19/2026

The new Kenneth and Sandra Wong Gallery, now under construction in the Telus Centre, will bring together art, science, history and culture – creating a welcoming, accessible place where students, researchers and the public can engage directly with the university’s world-class collections.

The U of A is home to the largest academic museum network in Canada, yet our vast array of treasures remain largely unseen by the public. Thirty exquisite co...

06/06/2025

Join us this Saturday for our final Gallery Discovery Morning during the Birds & Beasts Exhibition. We have a selection of childrens books for story time and a fun Build-A-Beast bookmark craft!

Gallery Discovery Mornings - Saturday June 7 - 11:00am - 12:00pm

University of Alberta Museums Gallery A, TELUS International Centre
11104 87th Ave, U of A North Campus, Edmonton, AB

05/29/2025

In celebration of the Magpie being voted in as Edmonton's Official Bird, Sarah Spotowski, Curatorial Assistant for the Mactaggart Art Collection, wrote this short article about the significance of Magpies within Chinese culture! Click the link to learn more: https://www.ualberta.ca/en/museums/news/2025/may/the-magpie-bridge-two-cultural-perspectives.html

Interested in seeing more birds from the Mactaggart Art Collection, come visit Birds & Beasts: Wearing Honour and Order in the Qing Dynasty, on view now in Gallery A, Telus International Centre until June 28, 2025.
LOCATION: University of Alberta Museums Gallery A
TELUS International Centre
11104 87th Ave, U of A North Campus, Edmonton, AB

HOURS: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Framed Silk Tapestry Weave Panel, Qing 17-18th centuries; Mactaggart Art Collection, University of Alberta Museums; Gift of Sandy and Cécile Mactaggart; 2005.5.391.1

05/23/2025

In our latest exhibition Birds & Beasts: Wearing Honour and Order in the Qing Dynasty, you may have noticed one textile unlike the others: a roundel amongst square rank badges. In this new article, Mactaggart Art Collection Graduate Research Assistant Lucia shares more information on this unique artifact! Click the link to learn more and make sure you visit Birds & Beasts in the Telus International Centre if you haven't already!
https://www.ualberta.ca/en/museums/news/2025/may/yuan-shikai-and-the-iconography-of-imperial-power.html

Birds & Beasts: Wearing Honour and Order in the Qing Dynasty
DATES: March 13 - June 28, 2025

LOCATION: University of Alberta Museums Gallery A
TELUS International Centre
11104 87th Ave, U of A North Campus, Edmonton, AB

HOURS: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday - 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Among the many artifacts displayed in the exhibition "Birds & Beasts: Wearing Honour and Order in the Qing Dynasty," one roundel rank badge stands out