Image: The Reach / Provided / Installation view of Parallax at The Reach Gallery Museum, 2025.

By Alyssa Conti

ART EXHIBIT

Abbotsford gallery museum explores history of Canada-U.S. border in new exhibit

Nov 11, 2025 | 10:20 AM

ABBOTSFORD — A public art gallery nestled at the border city between Canada and the United States is hosting a new exhibit showcasing the history of the 49th parallel.

The Reach Gallery Museum is presenting “Parallax: Perspectives on the Canada–U.S. Border”, an exhibition featuring rare archival materials from the 1858–62 Northwest Boundary Survey, alongside new commissions from Indigenous contemporary artists.

“Abbotsford’s southern edge is delineated by an international boundary that has had wide-reaching impact over the past 160 years,” said Sandra Dyck, executive director of The Reach.

“Parallax(e) offers us the opportunity to dive into the history of the 49th parallel: how it was visualized and marked on the land, and what perspectives can be gained when we look at the border from more than two sides.”

The name derives from a scientific term describing an optical effect in which an object’s position seems to change according to different viewpoints.

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Source: The Reach Gallery / Provided

By juxtaposing 19th-century photographs, watercolours, and memorabilia with curated Indigenous objects, the exhibit aims to acknowledge the lasting impacts of colonialism in the present and moving forward into the future.

The curatorial artist team consists of Dr. Shawn Brigman, Dr. Michelle Jack uɬ snəmtÌtkʷ, Deb Silver, Xémóntalot Carrielynn Victor, and Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss.

‘Parallax(e)’ is set to run until May 30, 2026.